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Book ^<^X LbA(o 
Copyright N«^.^J3_2J^ 

concRiGHT DEPosrr. 




THE AUTHOR 



SELECTED WRITINGS 

VERSES - COMMENT 
SKETCHES - STORIES 

of 

ABRAHAM ROSENTHAL 
EDITOR "THE MODERN VIEW- 
ILLUSTRATED 




SAINT LOUIS 
1920-5680 



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INSCRIBED TO 

THE STEADFAST AND DEVOTED 
COMRADE OF MY LIFE 

MY WIFE 




T^^HESB varied verses, stories, sketches and 

comments are taken mainly from "THE 

MODERN VIEW,"— a weekly journal of 

Jewish life and thought, published in Saint 

Louis since ipoi. 

Occasional complimentary letters, from 
readers of the journal, expressing their 
appreciation of some of the writings have 
suggested the collating of a number into a 
more lasting and attractive form. 

Selection has been made of matter 

having universal and more than special timeliness. 

The natural desire to see some of the scattered journal- 
istic work of twenty years rescued from possible oblivion, 
is another valid reason for this volume. 

In this book the folk who care may get an insight into 

the view of life and attitude of a modern American of 
Jewish faith, to thoughts and things in general. 

He feels, truly, that here, in this blest land of liberty, 
the finest ideals of Judaism and of humanity will meet in 
harmony. Here in this Promised Land, the highest hopes 
of man will he fulfilled, — in time. 

A. ROSENTHAL, 
' Editor "The Modern View." 

St. Louis, May, ig20-(568o). 



CONTENTS 



VERSE. 



I. TIME AND THE ELEMENTS 1 

II. PATRIOTIC POEMS 9 

III. JEWISH THEMES 17 

IV. NATURE TRIBUTES 25 

V. WAR-TIME VERSES 33 

VI. POEMS OF CONTRAST 41 

VII. PERSONAL TRIBUTES 49 

VIII. FESTAL AND MEMORIAL 65 

IX. MISCELLANEOUS 73 

PROSE 

X. SKETCHES 81 

XI. ADDRESSES 97 

XII. TRANSLATIONS 1 1 3 

XIII. COMMENT 121 

XIV. MISCELLANEOUS 1 36 

XV. IN LIGHTER VEIN 185 

XVI. TRAVEL PAPERS 203 

XVII. DRAMATIC 227 

XVIII. L'ENVOI 245 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



The Author 

Statue of Liberty. 

The Wrath of Moses. 

Along the Mississippi. 

The Wreath of Victory. 

Judas Maccabaeus. 

Mignon 

When the Czars Ruled. 

George Washington. 

Theodore Roosevelt. 

Rebecca. 

America Welcomes Immigrants. 

The Egyptian Maiden 
Charity. 

The Kingdom of Music and Song. 
Spring Days. 
Peace and Progress. 



Miriam and Infant Moses. 

The Infinite in Man 

Civil War Memorial. 

Marching Home. 

Hospitality. 

The Exiles. 

Abraham Lincoln. 

The Bell of Liberty 

Ruth. 

"Shylock." 

In Modern Palestine. 

The Deluge. 

Elman and Ysaye. 

Spring Cometh! 

In Memcriam (L. R. ) 

In Memoriam (A. R. ) 




LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD 
(Statue of Auguste Bartholdi) 




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TIME AND THE ELEMENTS 

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MAN AND THE EARTH. 



Man builds on Earth his cities vast, 

His templed architecture; 
Fair palaces that nations past 

But faintly could conjecture 

Man wrests from Earth her hoarded gems. 
Her treasures great unclasping ; 

And for his royal diadems 

Earth's precious jewels grasping. 

Man stains the earth with battle blood 

In strife with manly brother; 
Instead of striving, as he should 

WITH, not against, that other. 

Man tills the earth for fruit and grain 

With labor all unsparing; 
For all he has of brawn or brain 

Comes from the Earth's rich bearing. 

At last he sinks footsore, toihvorn 

Into Earth's mausoleum; 
The Earth receives her son earth-born; 

Death sings the last Te Deum. 

Yet Faith and Courage hold their worth 

And Hope outlives the toiler: 
And Beauty passes not from Earth 

With Death, the fell Despoiler. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE FUTURE. 

(two views.) 



THE FUTURE! Grim Medusa head, 

Fright'ning the heart with ominous fears, 
Sorrows and sighs and funeral dread — 
O, Future — full of anguished tears! 

New curses thy sad courses fill — 

Miseries crozvd thy pitiless hoard — 

Griefs and calamities, ill upon ill, — 

Fruitful misfortunes in thee are stored. 

Cruel wars defiling earth 

Awful gift — wtih millions slain, 
Throngs in serfdom crushed at birth 

Hopeless leav'st thou: — Wrong doth reign. 

Minds yet slavish; falsehood rife, 

Knaves triumphant ; Love quite fled. 
Faith decried; discord and strife 

Rampant: Can God he deadf 
0, Future — dark and drearisome! 

THE FUTURE! Roseate with cheer 

Bright'ning the heart! Hope's stately queen- 
Welcome thy joys. False fear 

Avaunt! Fair pleasures keen. 

Delights exquisite yet shall grace 

Thy happy years — hy Peace sun-kissed 

War banned for aye: — Progress apace; 
Men free — with minds unprejudiced. 

In every human form a soul; 

No stunted lives; a share for all; 
Faith in a glorious, worth-while goal; 

Justice is throned: Force has its fall. 

The righteous rule in Love supreme. 
Truth is no more reviled or dumb. 
Celestial Earth! into vain the dream 

0, Future — blest and beauteous, — come, 
0, Future, radiant, gladsome! COME! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



TIME. 



TIME is a Sea. The ships and states 

Of men voyage it o'er. 
Upon its surge they meet their fates. 

* * * 

A Sea that hath no shore! 
A shoreless Sea! 

TIME is a book. On every page 

Chaos and cosmic throes 
Birth and decay — each phase and stage. 

* * * 

A Book that hath no close! 
A cryptic Book! 

TIME is a Sun. Its changeless beams 

The universe o'erplay, 
Truth grows the while its white light streams. 

* * * 

Sun of fadeless Day! 
Perpetual Sun! 

TIME is a Cloud. Deep sunken hides 

Behind its solemn shroud 
Whence man arose and whither glides. 

* * * 

Impenetrable Cloud; 
All-veiling Cloud! 

TIME is a Cauldron. In it seethe 

Earth, air and fire; 
Planets and stars and we that breathe. 

* * * 

Seethings that never tire. 
A pitiless Pyre! 

TIME is a Grave. Within it rest 
Aeons and ages fled, 
Errors and things we call unblessed. 

* * * 

In cold oblivion — dead. 
A fathomless Grave! 

Infinite TIME! Deep shoreless Sea! 

Book without end! All-brigtening Sun! 
Obscuring Cloud! Red Crucible! 

Grave of things done! 



4 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



TIME— Continued. 

Ye would make man despair? 
Ye only goad him on — 

To holder strive — to dare your waves: 

To read your writ, defy your sun 
To pierce your cloud. Your flame he braves 
Speaks from your grave — while onward run 
The eternal years! 

L'BNVOI 
In truth, a holy trinity — 
GOD, MAN and TIME! 



"TIME HATH A WALLET." 



"Time hath a wallet at his back 
Wherein he puts alms for oblivion. 
A great-sized monster of ingratitudes. 
Those scraps are good deeds past ; which are devoured 
As fast as they are made, forgot as soon 
As gone. 

For Time is like a fashionable host, 
That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand 
And with his arms outstretched, as he would fly. 
Grasps in the comer." — Shakespeare. 



^ 



A truer word ne'er writst thou, Avon Bard! 
Time hath indeed a wallet at his hack 
Wherein, lie good deeds past. Today must guard 
The good of yesterday or lose it all. Alack! 
Wc are forgetful of the past, like Time 

Who ever hails the coming, not the parting guest. 

To calls of fashion with their fulsome chime 

We list, ohlivious of the Past's ripe wisdom blest. 

Rather, as Janus, look we open-souled 

To past and future, — not let rust 

Past glories, truths and deeds of ages old 

To moulder in Time's wallet of decay and dust. 

Tomorrow's lure shall stir our hope ahead. 

Keep effort bright. Howe'cr we run 

Be love, desert and honor trampled not as dead. 

Those scraps are good deeds past; to be preserved. 

Let Past and Future spur our Present on! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE YEARS. 



Ye think that the departed years are dead! 

They throb in every heartbeat of Today! 
Firmly as Hell or vaulted Heaven are wed 

The harvests of the Past, — with us they stay. 

The sins and sorrows of departed days 
Deepscar the Present's pusded, aching hrow, 

The messages of martyred majesty still raise 
The hopes of struggling strivers of the NOW. 

Dead prophets and dead despots — both remain! 

The humbly faithful and the proudly great — 
The golden beacon and the scarlet stain, 

They stir or blur our modern life-estate. 

Fled is each restless and remorseless year, — 
But all their fruit of precious good or ill 

Went not with them! Fixed ever is it here, 
Blessing or blasting mankind's efforts still. 

The loved ones that the heart's affections hold, — 

They are not lost! The years may ruthless fly, 
The sun may dim, the earth itself grow old, — 
But what once was can never truly die! 

The future years, unnumbered, lure us on 
With their seductive promises of bliss: 

They pledge us all — then suddenly are gone, — 
And leave us to the Present's earnest stress. 

The present years! They only are our own; 

In them alone the powers for service rest; 
The NOW is Faith's alchemic wonder-stone 

That gives or loses us the soul's fair quest. 

Departed years and mystic years to come, — 
We live in both, — we who would live today. 

Combined, they make of Life the precious sum: — 
Say, revelers — Dare we throw Life's pearls away? 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE WRECK OF THE "TITANIC." 



(Amid the awful gloom and horror of the wreck of the "Titanic" the 
inspiring mutual death-devotion of Mr. and Mrs. Isidor Straus thrilled 
the world.) 

Stars lit the sky that April eve, 

With fearful horror fraught, 

When Titan ship went down. 

It haunts all hearts. Long will they grieve 

At Ocean's havoc wrought, — 

The mighty ship went down. 

Stars lit the sky that night of fate, 

When, in its icy grave. 

The ill-starred ship went down. 

Fond hearts were cleft. Dear mate from mate 

Was rudely reft. The waters wave 

Where the great ship went dozvn. 

BEHOLD THOSE TWO! On Life's long sea 

Their mutual hark had sailed — 

{The stately ship went down) 

They will not part now! She nor he 

Paled not with fear, nor quailed. 

{The lordly ship went down.) 

The sea hath depths, the soul likewise 
And here was finely shown 
{As this great ship went down) 
The nobleness of life. We prize 
It 'mid the saddening moan 
Of that good ship gone down. 

Enclasped in love, — husband and wife 

True to the very close 

To watery death went down. 

But faith ascended! In our life 
The trust now stronger grows. 
No seas of earth can drown 

The faith in Love, that, with a kiss 
Dark death and doom defies, — 
Steadfast though heavens frozvn; — 
The love that mocks Fate's worst abyss 
That falters not nor dies, — 
Though Life itself goes down I 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



MAN AND THE ELEMENTS. 



Suggested by accounts of floods, fires, 
storms and earthquakes.) 

Are they man's friends, 

These Cyclop powers — 

Earth, Water, Fire and Air? 

That in this life of ours 

Bring beauty, then despair? 

The Fire 

devours our toilsome, lahor-zvon accumulations. 
Our cities and our humble habitations — 

The Water 

floods ivild-siveeping and submerging 

Our crops and lands in savage tidal surging — 

The Earth 

engulfs in strange seismic shaking 

Our homes and hopes in devastating quaking — 

The Air 

shatters with gales tempestuous rending. 
Our ships and shops to szvift destruction sending — 
And yet, 

The Fire performs our will obediently when bidden, 
The Water feeds the fields that fruitage give: 

The Earth yields food and treasures hidden; 
The Air gives us the very breath to live! 



PAST AND PRESENT. 



We hear the moan 
And mournful tone 
Of voices dear forever stilled; 
Futile we sob 
In vain hearts throb, 
Rebelliously. It was so willed! 



The past is past. 

It could not last! 

Why do we ask that it should stay? 

In Memory's ark 

Those days we mark 

With glory of a sunset ray. 



8 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



PAST AND PRESENT— Continued. 



"Come, turn your eyes," 
The Present cries, 

"From vanished things to present needs! 
HERE play your part — 
Your hand and heart 
Must stir Today to active deeds!" 
* * * 

The Past is here 

If we revere 

Its lessons and its noble gleams; 

If we make true 

What it but knew 

As distant hopes and splendid dreams! 



THE DUALITY OF TIME. 



TIME — how we hate thee! 
Thou witherest love 

And sunder est friends 

Destroycst Hope's budding 
And stealest the strength 

All planning thou changest 
Ambition thou free zest 

Thou blightest the bloosoms 

Sweet pleasures thou endest 
And sorrow thou send est 

TIME — how we hate thee! 
TIME — how we love thee! 

Thou makest Love blossom 
And new friends providest 
Fair hopes thou fulfillest 
Pleasures thou bringest 
Labor thou blessest 

Faith thou confirmest 
Peace thou invitcst 

And lustice enthronest 

Sore wounds thou healest 
Truth thou revealest 

TIME — how we love 
thee! 



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PATRIOTIC POEMS 

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IN PRAISE OF LIBERTY. 



Fair LIBERTY ! We sing thy praise! 
Thy blessings on the world bestow 
As Israel in ancient days! 
All despots from their thrones o'erthrow! 

Show us our duty — as our might — 
Together let both blending run: 
Shut not in ignorance our sight 
To any shackled, fettered one. 

O LIBERTY, thou queen supreme 
Wrested by blood from tyrant hands, — 
Make thy fair presence less a dream 
To men and women in all lands! 



THE BASIS OF GOOD GOVERNMENT. 



(Lines from the Declaration of Independence versified.) 

We hold the truth self-evident 

That all men equal are created: 
Endowed with rights divinely sent. 

Rights never to be violated: 

Life, Liberty and the pursuit 

Of Happiness; these to secure. 
Men governments must institute 

That shall (in order to endure) 

Their just and lordly powers derive 
From those they govern: their consent, 

Their favor and support must give 
All law its true establishment. 



10 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

ISRAEL TO AMERICA. 



(Suggested by the celebration of the 250th Anniversary of Jewish 
Settlement in America.) 



Not in hare empty maunderings must he expressed 
Our deathless love for thee, beloved land; 
That with thy sheltering pinions hast preserved and blessed 
Our homeless, ancient, persecuted band! 

The trinity of truths that made thee great. 

Hath fixed thee in our faith, beloved land! 

For Freedom, Fellowship and Peace, oh! State 

Revered thy name and to thy xveal, sincerely pledged, we stand! 

But not in words sweet-sounding can we prove 
Our thankfulness to thee, beloved land! 
All we possess, our lives, our means, our love 
We hold, prepared to yield, at thy command. 

Our deeds of bygone years right well declare 
Our patriot passion to thy good, beloved land! 
The future shall yet larger zvitness bear 
Of Israelis loyalty to thy star-spangled strand! 



SAGES IN ALL AGES. 



Bach era has its sages, seers, 

To whom majestic Truth appears 

To lead mankind 
And give the groping world a guide. 
The path is dark, the luay untried, 

And men are blind. 

Man has been blest in every age 
With noble men. On every page 

Of human Writ 
Their figures rise. Onward they led 
To higher life. Though long since dead, 

Our lamps they lit! 

Yet not alone in bygone years 

Have prophets lived— our modern seers 

Can wisdom speak. 
They, too, from on the mountain height 
Have witnessed that majestic light 

Of Truth we seek! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



11 



HOME AGAIN, MY HEARTIES! 



{On the return of the U. S. Fleet.) 
The Boatswain to the Crew as the Fleet sails into harbor. 



Boatswain — We're home again, my hearties, 
With our battleships of war ; 
God's favored spot this part is; 

Crew — Ay! jollily glad we are! 

Boatswain — We're home again, my hearties. 
In the land of stripe and star 
Where liberty on the chart is; 

Crew — Ay! jollily glad we are! 



Boatswain — We'ree home again, my hearties, 
Where men are on a par. 
Where men are higher than parties; 

Crew — Ay! jollily glad zve are! 



Boatswain — We're home again, my hearties, 

Where faith is never a bar, 

Here Right the only art is. 
Of landsman, soldier or tar. 

Do you realize that, my hearties? 

We're back from our voyage far. 
Hurrah for the home where each heart is! 

Crew — Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! 
Ay! jollily glad we are! 




12 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



AMERICA AND PALESTINE. 



AMERICA. 



Land of striving, land of thriving 
Hope and promise of the Jew! 
Land of giving and of living 
Prophet's words have here come true! 
Freedom, Justice — radiant shine 
Life and Faith are here secure; 
Here there is no barrier-ban: 
Peace and Progress here are sure. 
Here God reigns and man is man! 
"Land beloved! Thine and mine! 
Israel's shield and mankind's shrine! 
This is the new Palestine — 
America!" 



PALESTINE. 



Memories golden of days olden 

Of a people there no more 

We behold them now enrolled in 

All the nations the world o'er. 
Shall we then, in folly, pine 
For a dead, departed Bastf 
Rather let a joyful chant 
Sound aloud, each as high-priest, 

Sound a paean jubilant 
"Land beloved! Thine and mine! 
Israel's shield and mankind's shrine! 

America!" 
This is the new Palestine — 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 13 



LIBERTY AND LEADERSHIP. 



Liberty is impossible without leadership and the preservation of 
it is equally impossible without the persistence of more leaders who 
are vigilant and wise. 

There might have been a thousand miracles or plagues — the 
Israelites would never have fled to freedom without leadership. 

The cause of freedom has suffered more by absence of true leaders 
than from lack of followers. The w^orthiest aim, the finest purpose, 
must have champions who possess the triple gift of power, purpose 
and persistence. 

With these must go the crowning jewels of sincerity and sacrifice. 

The coming of a leader to a people or a cause, at the psycho- 
logical moment, is the real and vital miracle of civilized progress. 

As a Moses opportunely develops to lead his people out of slav- 
ery in ancient days, so ever since, at crucial hours, some Moses of 
like devotion, has arisen to be the guide and monitor, the spur and 
chieftain of a forward-moving cause. 

To accentuate the importance of leadership is not to sanction 
hero-worship. 

Because we honor, respect, trust and follow leaders is no reason 
that we worship them. 

No earthly human being can be idolized or worshiped by other 
earthly human beings — but that the superior judgment, the fuller 
wisdom, the riper comprehension of things is greater in some than 
in others must be conceded even by a Bolshevist democracy. 

This aristocracy of mind is born and not of earthly making. 

To leaders of thought and action liberty is indebted for its 
advance from the inception of the release of the Israelites from Egypt 
unto the glorious possession of this birthright of man's independence 
in the cherished land of liberty — America ! 



PREJUDICE AND CIVILIZATION. 



There can be no perfect civilization where prejudice exists. There 
can be no satisfactory society where groups face each other antago- 
nistically because of difference of religious views. There must be a 
realization that people and groups may differ intellectually and still 
feel the kinship of common mortality. 



14 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

WASHINGTON OR LINCOLN. 



It is the custom to compare the twin heroes of our American history. 

This is unfair. Their tasks were different. Washington's was 
constructive, Lincoln's defensive. 

Washington was assailed during his life and had indeed the strug- 
darity of a union of states. 

Sympathy leans to Lincoln because the rewards that Providence 
gave these two stars of our national story were so different. 

Washington was assailed during his life and had indeed the strug- 
gles incident to every faithful advocate of ideals or truth. But his 
reward came in an elevation to chief magistracy three times tendered. 

All the joys of peace, comfort, prosperity, — of "honor, love, obedi- 
ence, troops of friends," all there were his and peacefully he passed 
away, — a blessed memory. 

Lincoln's reward, — alas, poor Lincoln, — was— a bullet in the brain — 
that brain which thought and wrought but one idea, the intact preserva- 
tion of the Union. 

Martyred in the moment of his triumph, his public life one storm 
and stress — how different was poor Lincoln's compensation! But what 
a memory his name, what an impetus to us in his career! 

Let us not compare these two most excellent of our great ones. Let 
us love them both in equal measure for the one gave, the other saved our 
land, and both were brave, brave far beyond our little understandings. 

Perhaps they also knew not their own greatness or the immensity 
of consequences of the separate, sanctified, staunch nobleness of their 
two devoted, dedicated lives. 



WHAT LIBERTY IS NOT. 



Whizz ! Boom ! ! Ah ! Fireworks ! Colored Fire and Balloons 1 

The annual imbecility of celebrating a great and serious event 
is on us, and like long-suffering Americans we bravely bear the 
idiocy, all in fair Freedom's name. 

But what is Freedom? 

Freedom is not riotous disregard of one's neighbor's feelings, in 
little or big matters. 

Freedom is not reckless invasion of rights of others for gratifi- 
cation of our own. 

Freedom is not "having one's way" at the expense of others' 
wishes. 

Freedom is not discriminating against others because of faith or 
nationality. 

Freedom is not the arbitrary overriding of an earnest or honest 
minority. 

Freedom is not closing our ports to deserving immigrants of 
other nations, especially to persecuted ones. 

Freedom is not oppressing the poor by capitalistic trusts, nor 
is freedom abusing the power of labor by injudicious use of it. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 15 



CAN WE BAR THEM? 



Immigration is perhaps as big a topic as any of all the problems 
that beset our Government and progress. 

People can be found who will declare that unrestricted immigra- 
tion means the ruin and destruction of our country, its industries, its 
living standards and its customs and traditions. 

Equally positive are those who will maintain (and far more 
justly), that only by an immigration — full, free and unrestricted, ex- 
cept, of course, to morally or physically unfit — can the United States 
advance, the work of the Commonwealth be performed, new fields 
filled, the resources of the land developed and our greatness extended 
and our wealth expanded. 

It may be true that by a limitation the incoming of foreigners we 
give a decided advantage to organized labor. Who and what is this 
"American labor" but foreigners who came some years ago but now 
consider that THEY are the only Americans? Have we or they the 
right to keep for themselves or for us the opportunities that America 
provides? Is such an action fair? Is it right, reasonable or rational, 
that, because one's parents or grandparents came before the present 
day to this land of promise, now that WE are in, we shall shut the 
gates in the face of parents of future generations of Americans who 
seek the same glad prospect and freedom that is here to be found by 
all who will observe the laws and by right industry and perseverance 
win a fair reward and human compensation ? 

Whether these prospective new Americans who seek to enter be 
Jews, Catholics or Protestants from any land, should count for noth- 
ing if they be fit in body and in spirit for the right and dignity that 
a full fledged citizenship confers on them. 

There must be no cessation in the bitter fight against those who 
would oppose continued immigration. Such efiforts must be defeated, and 
so thoroughly that the injustice may not be tried again for many years 
to come. 

As true Americans it should be a duty to assist and aid in the 
determined opposition to such utterly mistaken efforts, which, in the 
name of patriotism contradict the basic true foundations on which 
the United States was built, and by the following of which only can 
this land grow and prosper. 

Hold the portals open ! Let our brothers in ! America is big 
and will assimilate them and the immigrant will be in proper time, 
with proper aid, the sturdy patriot, the worthy citizen and good 
American, ready to live, fight or die for this adopted land. 



16 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE JEWISH WAR RECORD. 



The war is past — and peace at last is here. It is natural to cast 
a glance at the contribution Jewish citizens of America have made 
to the winning of the war. 

The American Jewish Committee has attempted to keep a record, 
but it goes without saying, that any such record must be less than the 
whole, for no organization, no matter how well organized, could keep 
the perfect tabulation. 

The Committee reports that from 150,000 to 200,000 Jews were 
serving in the American armed forces, or about 130,000 in the army 
and about 20,000 in the navy and Marine Corps. The records of 
about 65,000 have been classified, and of that number 4,910 are com- 
mishioned officers. Up to November 1, there were 2,502 casualties 
among the Jews whose names had been classified, or about 3.9 per 
cent. It is pointed out also in the report that while the infantry 
comprises about 44 per cent of the total strength of the army, the 
percentage of Jews in that army is about 69. 

The many millions that Jewish citizens have given to national 
needs and Government loans — the gigantic services of Jewish women 
in war work. Red Cross service and nursing — all these form a glorious 
part of the Jewish record. 

The Jewish men fought and bled, not as "yiddishers" (abolish 
the word and the jargon!) or even as Jews — but as American men, 
who had a consciousness of the great vital human principles at stake 
in the contest. 

Because they were Jews, they had a keener sense of their respon- 
sibility to uphold justice and democracy — and this great land of 
America which succored them before the day of world-democracy, 
the land which they will never desert — even for a hazy political 
Palestine ! 

The war record of the Jew in America in the world-war is an 
inspiring one. It forms a glittering star to those of his heroic service 
in the Civil War and that of the American Revolution. 

The Jew is in America like the states that form the Union — "now 
and forever" — and his attachment to the land of liberty is likewise, 
"one and inseparable." 





AMERICA WELCOMING THE IMMIGRANT 




HOSPITALITY 




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JEWISH 

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ATONE! ATONE! 




For unkind words 

That stabbed like swords, 

Atone! Atone! 
For wrongful deed 
That made hearts bleed,— 

Atone! Atone! 
For sinful thought, 
For discord wrought. — 

Atone! Atone! 
Before too late 

Atone! 
Make right the wrong! 
Be brave! Be strong! 
Repent thou nozv! 
Fulfill thy vow! 
When life is gone 
The chance is flown! 

ATONE! 



THE YOUNG MAN IN ISRAEL. 



In thee, Judean manhood, rests the fate 

Of Israel! Thy rise or fall 
Is Israel's! Soon or late 

To thee must Israel call. 
Youth! Art thou conscious of thy power? 

Thy duty and thy cause f Awake! 
Nor longer sleep in sloth the golden hour, — 

Off from thee Folly's futile mantle shake! 
Guardian thou art of Israel's legacy 

Defender and brave Sentinel! Stand fast! 
Let not the triple treasures stolen be 

Of Future, Present, Past. 
Thy zvilling arms must man the oars 

Through Time's rough storms. Thy hands must guide 
The craft through seas and years to shores 

Where honor, truth and right abide. 
Mind, body, spirit, — these command. 

Hear ye not Israel's battle-cry? 
"For Truth and Justice," sternly stand 

Till Prejudice shall die! 



18 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

THE STORY OF THE MACCABEES. 



Though ages pass and centuries Uy, 
The acts of brave men never die. 
Our martyrs of today who fall 
The future ages will recall. 
The memory of their noble lives 
Each generation tribute gives. 
Thus joyfully, our memory turns, 
And with a freshened fervor burns, 
As we again the chapter read 
Of Maccabeean martyrs' deed! 
Let's hear again the thrilling tale 
That repetition cannot stale. 
No heroes die. They live always. 

The story is of ancient days. 
There reigned a king of evil fame — 
Antiochus his odious name — 
Powers, to his unseeing eyes. 
Meant but the right to tyrannise. 
Democracy t An unknown word! 
Religious freedom? How absurd! 
The king's decree was sent abroad 
That Jewish worship of their God 
Should no more be. He then profaned 
The Holy Temple. Anguished, chained. 
Our people stood — their faith denied! — 
Death was the cost if they defied. 

Mattathias was a Jewish priest 

Of God, faith, life— life meant the least. 

He struck to death a coward, who 

In fear forgot he was a Jew! 

Then tied and called his martial sons — 

The Maccabees — to fight the Huns; 

For Huns they were, brutal and blind, 

Slaying the freedom of mind. • 

Judas, the boldest of the brood. 

To victory led the Jews. He stood 

Against Israel's oppressive foe. 

What mattered death against the woe 

Of slavish thralldom? So he fought 

As freemen always do and ought. 

With right and justice on his side 

He struck. 0, many heroes bled and died! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 19 



But at the end, upon his shield, 
Shone VICTORY ! the tyrant reeled; 
Again the Temple, purified, 
Welcomed its worshipers. Justified 
Is faith and valor. Even yet 
We hold them fast, nor shall forget 
The men who battled, lived and died 
That Truth and Manhood might abide! 



JUDAS MACCABAEUS. 



Israel's imperial son! Stern and invincible 

Firm is the face of death, — our manhood's flower- 
Strong Maccabee ; Within us still 

We feel, of thy courageous life, the power. 

Bravely thou faced the rage of tyrant king: — 
Refused to wrong submissively to bend: — 

Boldly defiance flung, with offering 

Of life, the Right of Conscience to defend! 

Hateful is zvar, and hellish its red woe, 

But what true man would cherish peace in chains? 

Peace is not peace that doth not Freedom know! 
Peace is not peace unless fair Justice Reigns! 

Not conquest did thy martial spirit stir 

Not reckless zest of glory or of fame: — 

The love of truth, of faith and justice were 

The merits that immortalise thy name. 

The "Festival of Lights," the feast we name 

That crowns the memory of thy golden deeds 
A Light indeed thou art, — a valiant flame 
That on to emulation luminously leads. 

Dwells in us moderns yet thy hero-breath 
To smite the Antiochii that profane? 
Have we the valor that can war till death 
Against the wrongs that wound, oppress and stain? 

To bar the evil rule of Bigotry and Pride 

Of Selfishness, of Arrogance and Greed 
To all men brotherly allied 

And battling on, — may thy example plead! 

The cause of man steers forward to the shore 

That brightly gleaw.s before Hope's longing sight: 

Injustice then shall darken earth no more. 

And men shall love — and understand — the Right. 



20 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

THE EGYPTIAN MAID'S LAMENT. 



Tell, O daughter of the Nile, 
What the burden of thy strain; 

Is't of some love-traiior vile, 

Whom thou mournest all in vain? 

Do thy harp's sad strings relate, 

In their melancholy pain, 
All the solemn tragic fate 

That befell Rameses' reign? 

Sing'st of ruined temples, — tombs 

Of silent Pharaohs; 
Dream'st of Egypt's glorious blooms 

Ere oblivion wrapped them close? 

Damsel dark, that plaintive sings, 
Knowest thou or canst thou tell 

Why thy proud, imperious kings 
From their haughty splendor fell? 

In thine Egypt, ancient, proud. 
Dwelt a people, — hard oppressed 

By thy despots. Burden-bowed, 

Slaved and served they, sore distressed. 

Slaved and suffered, 'til despair 

(So 'tis told in olden lore) 
Drave them to the desert bare 

(Heavy was the yoke they bore.) 

They escaped thy king's mad wrath. 

Israel lives! Thy kingdom fell. 
Blazed was Freedom's noble path 

By that people — ISRAEL. 

All the tyrants of today 

Who misuse their power and gold, — 
They who crush, oppress and slay, 

They shall die as Pharaohs old. 

Cease thy sad and mournful tones; 

To the dead past they belong. 
In the newer life that dawns 

Shall be sung a sweeter song, 

Wherein joy shall be the key; 

Right and justice sound the chord. 
Law shall blend with liberty, 

Brotherhood and love be Lord 

Over all. The morn shall glow 
With a beauty fine and strong. 

Man shall feel and man shall know! 
Sing us maid, this newer song! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



21 



THE SOUNDING SHOFAR OF THE SOUL. 



The "Shofar" is the trumpet (anciently a ram's horn), blown in the 
synagogues on the Day of Memorial to awaken repentance. 



IViih hearts gnef-pained, and souls sin-stained 

We doubt, deny: — 
By passion torn^ and battle-worn, 

IV e sink and sigh. 

Dreams unfull filled, ideals chilled 

We drift along. 
The strife is sore — we wish it o'er. 

Sad is the song. 

The Day of Thought, with hope full fraught, 

Now bids us try, 
The task again: — to fight and strain 

To fix more high 

The stars of faith. Be real! 

"Be firm!" it cries. 
"Suffering is strength; Time will reveal: 

Faith never dies." 



The sounding Shofar of the soul, — 

Its tones nozv thrill 
To fuller life and higher goal, 

The slumbering zvill. 

The trumpet of the soul sounds true: 

It calls us clear: 
"Reflect! Repent! Re-live anew!" 

Will we give earf 



22 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



(IN VERSE.) 




him 






A. 




Thou shalt have no God but Me : 
To no idol bend the knee : 
Use God's name in love, not hate : 
The Sabbath do not desecrate : 
Give thy parents honor due : 
Heed that thou no murder do : 
Keep from words and deeds unclean 
Steal not, he thou rich or mean : 
Let thy lips no falsehood blot: 
Covet not what thou hast not. 



THE MACCABEE. 



War's bloody tools were in his hands 

The unsheathed sword, the sharpened spear — 

But not for greed or lust for lands 

Nor glory's lure. A cause more dear 

His martial ardor courage gave. 

Brave hero who upon his shield 

Emblazoned "TRUTH and FAITH" No slave 

This Maccahee! He would not yield 

The freedom of his soul! No peace 

Can truly he where thought is chained 

Be it by ancient Syria, Greece 

Or tyrants of today, blood-stained. 

Though Peace be ever Israel's cry 
The greater theme is Justice, still 
For only in Truth's majesty 
Can Peace, with faith the future fill. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 23 



A JUDGMENT DAY. 



(The Jewish New Year Day, "Rosh Hashono," is termed the Day 
of Memorial — or reflection on transgressions.) 



A Judgment Day! Upon the throne 
Stern Conscience sits. As in a glass 
We see ourselves. Frankly we own 
Our kinship with the sinning mass. 

"Forgive!" "We will atone!" we pray. 
Missteps contritely we confess. 
We seek today the sunlit way — 
The road of moral Righteousness. 

Bach faithlessness that we recall 
Weighs leandenlike. Escape seems vain. 
Our guilt hangs o'er us like a pall: 
From priest to clown, none free from stain. 

We would repair the wrong, — atone 
Each fault, — cleanse us, repent, — 
Purge us of evil. Wiser grown, 
We stand abased, in sorrow bent. 
***** 

The Day has waned. The bitter feud 
Within our breasts (of good with base) 
Is closed awhile. With hope renewed 
The humbled self takes heart of grace. 

With heart and spirit purified. 
Afresh the path of life we tread. 
Justice and Wisdom! be our guide, 
And lead us! May no tears be shed 

For acts of ours: nor any shame 
Be of our making. May no ill 
Be of our doing. May we aim 
To guard the name of Israel still. 
To serve the good, — to aid the cause 
Of widow, orphan and oppressed. 
Transgressing none of Sinai's laws — 
Content to strive and toil, God-blessed. 



24 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE DEAD V7HO LIVE. 



Not dead are they who, living, strove 
For larger life and nobler world! 

Their souls live honored on, in love- 
Rare, costly gems in memory pearled. 

The Maccabees, who bottled zuell — 

The thinkers, fighters of all days! 
The martyrs dead — O, deathless dead! 

Lead on! IV e tread the path you blaze! 

Life would be empty, sterile, void — 
// ne'er had been the glorious band 

Whose noble fruits men have enjoyed 
In countless form in every land. 

They showed us treasures, fine and true, 

Not merely that we might admire. 
But to inspire us like to do 

And feel the thrill of heavenly fire. 

Their shining banners upward lead. 

The good of life zve must defend — 
Thought must become a living deed — 

Ideals must with action blend. 

What once they gained through stress and pain 
We, careless heirs, shoidd prize, uphold 

And link in a perpetual chain 

These riches, greater far than gold. 

O souls heroic! How you wing 

Our hearts to hope, — our hands to do! 

Angelic host! On earth you fling 
Celestial seed-faith to reneiv! 





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NATURE 

!!!S!!l!!IUIIillIi:!!!SC:ill!!IIIIIIia!llil!IIIIIiaiIIII!lltliiaiilli!lilllinillllMIII 

THE MOCKING-BIRD'S SONG. 





S>^~-.^ 



At morn and eve, a mocking bird, 

Upon a szvaying wire. 
Sits singing. His sweet song is heard — 

A little soul afire! 

Does he not know (or does he care?) 

That men are waging war? 
He sits and Hits, high up in air 

Like some bright, vocal star. 

He sees the sun in glory rise — 

At eve majestic close: 
Above him skies — beneath him lies 

His tree, his bush, his rose! 

Perhaps this feathered optimist. 

With his enchanting song. 
Is prophesying days, peace-kissed, 

The end of war and wrong. 

At times, sharp notes of martial kind 

He utters, as — perchance — 
He feels our hosts victorious wind 

Along the roads of France. 

Dull care and grief, with well-tuned throat 

Unwittingly he mocks. 
With clear, melodic, liquid note — 

A living music-box! 

O happy bird with magic voice! 

A pleasure rare you bring! 
Your cheerful tones make us rejoice 

While dulcetly you sing. 

Sing on to us each summer day 

With undiminished zest! 
Sad hearts are lighter through your lay — 

O little songster blest! 



26 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

SPRING COMETH. 



There is no Spring 

Unless our hearts be young; 
There is no Spring 

Unless truth guides our tongue- 
There is no Spring 

Unless our thoughts are pure; 
There is no Spring 

Unless our faith endure. 

But if our hearts heat true — 

Then Spring is joy! 
And if our tongues peace strezu — 

Then Spring is joy! 
If fine thoughts still we cherish — 

Then Spring is joy! 
If hope we let not perish — 

Then Spring is joy! 



WHY SPRING IS WELCOME. 



The heavenly herald's here! 
Leaf, blossom, bud and spear 

Awakening ! 
The earth we thought as dead 
Is now its barren bed 

Forsakening ! 

The faith that winter chilled, 
Renczved, revived is thrilled; 
The birds, the sun, the air, 
Their cheerful message bear. 

"Fresh hope, faint heart!" they call. 
Death's pall doth not end all! 
Beauty and joy Life spells, 
In earth and heart Spring dwells! 

Hope welcoming! 

Tears banishing! 

Fears vanishing ! 

Hearts gladdening ! 

Faith broadening! 
Hail! happy Spring! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 27 



AUTUMN AND WINTER. 



Bare, lifeless, melancholy say ye of the days 
When trees stand blackly-silent, — silhouettes 

That sentinel for Nature, while she lays _ 

Foundation for Spring's violet and mignonettes? 

Bleak, chill and cheerless name ye the strange time 
When, dull and dark, rich fields all fallow wait, 

So changed, in sheeted shroud or snow-white rime 
With frozen gems, — a naked grandeur desolate? 

Look ye within! There, — in your homes and hearts 
Is Spring in Autumn, — Summer in the Snow! 

Yourself! There is the alchemy of all the arts 
That finds thanksgiving as the seasons go! 

Through dying Autumn, — Winter stark and cold, 
Your lovelier, nobler self let reign, — a queen 

Who smiles enthroned, wide spreading summmer gold 
Unmindful of the landscape's altered scene! 



SHAW'S GARDEN. 



(Missouri Botanical Garden, Given to City of St. Louis 
by Henry Shaw.) 



What beauty and zvhat sweetness rare, 
This lovely Paradise encloses! 

Delights that exile thoughts of care — 
Pinks, purple pansies, queenly roses! 

A world of color, form and grace, 

A wealth of peaceful, gentle splendor! 

Enjoy this happy, holy place 

Of Nature and her brave defender! 

Forget in fragrance-scented air 
Pain, poverty and battles gory! 

For in this garden gay and fair 
Reigns Flora in her gentle glory. 

She brightens sorrow and distress, 
And with her flowers freshly blozving. 

She bids you see Life's loveliness. 
That earth to us is ever showing. 



28 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



SPRING GREETING. 



Welcome thy winsome, lissome grace — 
Thy splendor, Spring, each sense enchanting! 
Thy floral smile, thy blithesome face 
Revives the soul, for beauty panting. 

Into the long, work-worried day 
Thou fluttcrcst in, with joy delighting. 
Thy piping warblers trill: "To Play!" 
To Nature's call our hearts inciting. 

Thou layst on human grief and woe 
Thy gentle touch, to hope reviving. 
Thou bidst us trust: thy zephyrs blow 
And stimulate our mortal striving. 

Spring in the wood! Spring in the heart! 

Abide with us! Though unrelenting 

Age withers us — let us not part 

Dear Spring and Hope! Soothe our lamenting. 

Make us more glad! Cause us to see 
In all this earthly beauty vernal 
Of stream and sunbeam, flower and tree. 
The Essence of the Poivcr Eternal: — 

The Power, whose Word the Spring-joy sings 
To that, with confidence unending 
Through Life and Death our faith still clings 
Through all the seasons changeful blending. 




SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 29 



SPRINGTIME AND FAITH. 



If there is any one stimulus to exalted thinking akin to religious 
feeling, it is the recurrence and reappearance of each season in its 
unchanging unchangeable succession. 

We cannot conceive a human being to whom the transformation 
of the earth from gray to green, from death to life, from winter time 
to spring, comes for the first time without wonder, joy and awe. 

The miracle inspires wonder, for no human agency produces it; 
the marvel glads because the normal mind and soul responds to the 
cheerful stimulus of shooting sprouts, fragrant blossoms and 
twittering song; the spectacle of spring instills an awe to thoughtful 
souls to whom the magic of sunrise, growth and nature's processes 
have not grown commonplace or old. 

The idea of Deit}' and faith receive their strongest satisfaction 
and support in contemplating such superb scenes as spring alone 
can bring. 

Let us rejoice with spring! Let it stir us to rejuvenation of 
our own existence ! Let it wake our fancy and our faith to renewed 
blossoms of sweet words, good deeds and love. 



PLANTING TREES TO MEMORIES. 



One must be lacking in every element of spiritual life, not to ap- 
preciate the beauty of the annual pilgrimage of the National Jewish 
Farm School in Bucks County, Philadelphia, such as took place on 
June 7. The noble custom of planting trees in consecration of the 
memories of beloved dead is one feature of the pilgrimage. So too 
the Zionists have the Herzl-Forest to plant olive trees in memory of 
the dead. 

Fitting it surely is that the emblems of material life and growth, 
the tree, should mark the memory of those whose physical being exists 
no more in the form we knew it, but whose remembrance stays with 
us, blest and green as the refreshing shade and shield of the pro- 
tecting tree. 

How appropriate that from the earth, wherein the dead are 
laid to rest, wall rise, as if to greet us, the "incommunicable" but 
eloquent trees with cheerful, waving branches and leafy, loving 
boughs ! 

The benefit to posterity of many trees, is like the good that 
comes from lives well-spent. The trees that owe their life to the 
death of human beings, in that they grow as a memorial of them, 
are in a way the continuation of the good that was done in the 
life-time of the dead. 

It is a form of resurrection that even the veriest rationalist 
can ratify. 



30 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

OUR MIGHTY HELPLESSNESS. 



The earthquake's havoc in sadly-stricken San Francisco shakes 
not only the stones and skyscrapers of man, but more our pride and 
self-sufficiency. 

Who, witnessing or reading of the heaving earth, the rocking 
streets, the toppling structures, burning buildings, shocks, terror, 
fear, panic, confusion, starvation — Death and ghouls — who, seeing or 
hearing of such a fearful pandemonium but feels actually all the 
Httleness of man, the insignificance of his most boasted triumphs and 
his pitiful mighty helplessness in the face of elemental Nature after 
all! 

An earthquake shocks many a faithful believer's trust in the 
beneficence of an omnipowerful Presence that personally, in their 
faith, controls the wild violence of Nature. 

The theologian has use of his keenest wit and profoundest 
thought to reconcile the wide and terrible destruction with the teach- 
ings of a loving Watcher over man. 

But if theology feels the efifect of earthquake shocks, equally 
it affects the blase materiahst who, self-sufficient as he is, must find 
a rude awakening in here discerning how utterly impotently feeble 
are all his money, skill and vaunted self-made strength. 

The moralist deplores the sorrowful destruction of life, of limb 
and labor. Soberly he hastens to the rescue, giving aid direct and 
hope to the despairing ones. 

He sees the pessimism such a cataclysm must inspire, but in the 
valiant heroism, dauntless courage, universal sympathy and generous 
flood assistance and relief he sees a wealth of satisfaction that shames 
his weak surrender to the gloomier mood of vain despond, and lights 
with gleams of optimistic faith his trust in man even if Nature fails 
him or yields beneath his feet. 

An earthquake proves our common bond of frail humanity, our 
brotherhood of mortahty. 

The tremor of the subterranean power that travels under the 
earth and makes the quaking misery on its face, creates in every 
human link a realization of compassionate fellow feeling, an apprecia- 
tion of the fact that despite all our artificial dififerences, we are all 
in the hand of the Power that rules the universe, our fate and ulti- 
mate fortune similar. 

That thought is the only one that even faintly can satisfy the 
intellect in such calamities as Johnstown, Galveston, Charleston and 
San Francisco. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 31 



DEATH IN THE DEEP. 



Jewish lives and Christian lives alike went down in that fell 
sweeping, dreadful and unparalleled disaster of the sea, 

Man draws the lines of creed. 

Death knows no such distinction. 

Death recognizes no division. 

Man separates men into sects. 

Nature treats them all alike. 

Spring and the glories of earth cheer and delight Jew, Christian 
and unbeliever. The horror of death, in the form of the "Titanic" 
catastrophe, reaps its harvest of all faiths. It shocks and numbs 
the hearts of every human being, Jewish, Christian, agnostic, atheist. 

The ultimate helplessness of man is pitilessly driven home to 
all of us. Men- of all creeds and faiths and of none, respond to the 
conscious knowledge, bitterly and unforgettably thus impressed, that 
all are mortals, of a common destiny, different in its forms of coming, 
but inescapable. 

A disaster like that of the "Titanic" depresses. Afterwards we 
study it. We begin to ask "Wherein is man perhaps at fault?" 

Why were there not more life boats? Why such reckless speed? 
Why such a perilous, ice-filled route? Was safety sacrificed for 
luxury? 

We begin to believe that not fate, but human incaution and false 
security played their greater part in the dreadful dooming of those 
many hapless fellow-men. 

The world is overwhelmed and stunned. Let us sorrow. Let us 
sympathize, — but in our universal grief may such fearful happening 
as this engrave indelibly on us the common human origin and mortal 
destiny. 

It must make all feel the responsibility of providing for the wel- 
fare, safety and security of everybody, everywhere. 

We know not when nor where nor how any omission or neglect 
of duty may apply to each and all of us. May the disaster draw all 
civilized humanity closer together, not for the moment, but for all 
future time, into a better brotherhood as a collective sorrow or 
calamity often does. 



32 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE AVOIDABLE. 



There appear to be two spheres of accidents — those within and 
those beyond human foresight and control. 

The lesson is to take precautions in our daily life, in our civic 
sphere, in our personal, physical, moral existence as that of our fellows 
to reduce the elements that are antagonistic to our bodily mental and 
spiritual welfare, by the blessed "stitch in time that saves nine." 

Such a simple thing as an unlocked outward swinging door would 
have saved two hundred innocent lives, and avoided the wreck of count- 
less human domestic felicity in this one case. 

What immeasurable woe have we and are we daily courting and 
insuring by what can only be considered as a criminal neglect of neces- 
sary precautions on every side, social, intellectual and material? 

Look around you. Is there nothing you can help to improve to 
guard against any impending avoidable disaster? 



FLOWERS OR PHILANTHROPY; 



The elements of sadness surrounding death are such that logic 
can hardly find a place when sentiment sits supreme, as in the final 
parting. 

Therefore, it would be vain to argue the folly of floral tributes to 
the dead who cannot value them or sense their fragrance. The weep- 
ing mourners cannot hear the logic of the useless extravagance that 
is shown at funerals by lavish floral pieces that are dead almost as 
soon as the cortege arrives at the place of interment. 

But the appeal is being made not to the reason, but to sentiment as 
well, for, in the hour of darkness, when the stealthy, restless angel 
calls a dear one from us, we are more conscious of our kinship and 
our obligations to our fellow-men. We feel more keenly then their 
woes, their sorrows and their sufferings. 

Many intelligent people are therefore now giving the money 
they would formerly have spent in flowers, that wdther in an hour, 
to the more useful purpose of philanthropy in its various forms of 
relief to sick, to starving and to homeless, LIVING human beings. 

And not alone in the sad and tearful hours, but also in the glad 
and joyful celebrations, is the futility of floral folly and extravagance 
equally and obviously useless. Also, there should be thought of those 
v.ho need medical aid, money, bread, coal, clothes and education. 

The beautiful rose is more glorious, transformed into a health- 
reviving meal to starving stomachs. 

A lily is more lovely in the shape of a cheerful fire against the 
winter's grip of ice and snow. 

Carnations or chrysanthemums bloom longer in the memory and 
leave a finer fragrance in the form of education given to those ardent 
ones who crave the uplift from the deadening slum. 

Flowers of philanthropy — how will you answer it in your hours 
of joy or sorrow? 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S MEMORY. 



(On the Centenary of his birth, February 12, 1909) 

Rich in the reverence of a nation's heart, 
Thou martyred one! thou firm and rugged rock! 
Like valiant knight didst thou perform thy part 
Despite of envy, malice, jeer and mock! 

Dark were the shadows, deep the grief and care 
That fell to thee, heroic, homely soul! 
Belied, contemned, but now with splendor rare 
Thy fame glows radiantly from pole to pole! 

Could we our fated tasks as fitly meet 
As thou didst thine (O peerless man of men!) 
Fearless the great Assassin, Death, we'd greet, 
Scorning his shaft. Life were a victory then! 




GEORGE WASHINGTON 



PATER PATRIAE. 



Shall we the worn laudation still repeat 

That each successive generation 

In strophe and trope lays ever at thy feet 

O pater patriae, — brave father of our nation? 

Shall zve commend and glorify thy deeds 
That set a wondering world amaze, 
Tell how thy deathless faith met sorest needs 
O pater patriae — those dark, drear, dismal daysf 

Shall we consider every conquered field 
Of martial glory? All the triumphs of thy star 
That wrought this country of the free, — a shield 
For the oppressed of kings and Czars? 

Ay' ne'er will we forget and never let 

Thy noble fame from out of our memory be effaced 

So long as life has hope or sun shall set! 

Thy name in every heart by love be traced 

To shake the doubt, as with our eye 

We view the manifold abuse of power 

Which in thy name, — oh pater patriae! 

Pollutes the fragrance of our Freedom's flower 

With wild distorted notions of the Pharisee 
Where Freedoms fundamentals are forgot! 
O give thy name them grace and breadth to see 
That truer liberty for which our fathers fought. 




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WAR-TIME 
VERSES 

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THY WREATH, O VICTORY, GIVE!" 




We thought the strength of Right, 
Not Might,— 

Had firmly planted been in power. 
But men still clash 
And cannons crash, 

And conflict stains the hour! 

Since, seemingly, no course 
But force 

Can serve the progress of the race, — 
We ask that thou 
Upon us now 

Thy wreath, o' Victory, place! 

That the oppressed and just 
May trust, — 

And Faith accept thee as God's voice; — 
Through trials sore — 
And battles' roar — 
Anoint America thy choice! 

That ended be the things 
Called kings; — 

That struggling multitudes may breathe; — 
That they may live, 
O Victory give! 

Thy grace our arms enwreathe ! — 




34 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



SPRING IN WAR TIME. 



The flowers azvake! Their tender life 
Was wont to fill our Spring with joys. 

Their beauty now is marred by strife. 
By armies' tramp and warring noise. 

Trees greet us with new-budding leaf: 
Green are the forests, groves and fields! 

War claims them, too, and adds to grief 
Their former peace to battle yields. 

The red rose blossoms! Redder far 
The blood that man is shedding now! 

Spring charm.s us not while rages war — 
The mark of Cain is on man's brow! 

The sky is blue — Spring has begun! 

But warfare blurs the azure sky 
Dimmed is the glory of the sun 

By whirring demons as they fly! 

The birds are singing — but their trill, 
Is mingled with the screaming shell — 

Drowning their melody — until 
They fly in terror from the hell. 

The ocean ripples — but our thoughts 
Are of the monsters it conceals 

The devastation they have wrought 
The sca-wavcs' fascination steals. 
* * * 

But — when the fearful days shall cease. 

And all the jarring horror ends — 
Then shall again the Springtime spell 
Of ocean, sky and woodland dell 
Its tale to war-worn mortals tell — 
The music of a world at peace — 
And for our loss make full amends! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 35 




s*- 




THE CROSS AND THE STAR. 



(Note. — Over the graves of Christian soldiers of the American Army 
who fall abroad crosses are placed. Stars (six pointed) mark those of 
Jewish faith.) 



On battlefields the valiant brave 

Are resting — sleeping, grave on grave. 

Christian and Jew — 

To duty true — 
For Hag and faith their lives they gave. 

The Christian graves the crosses tell, 
The stars — where Jewish heroes fell. 

Varied the creed. 

Kindred the deed, 
They flinched not from the shrieking shell. 

Over the Christian, crosses rear, 
Over the Jewish, stars appear, 

THE FLAG O'ER BOTH! 
The glorious Hag whose guardian folds 
All faiths, in fellowship, upholds. 

They rest! Resistlessly press on 
The living ones to victory's dawn! 

Forward the two — 

Christian and Jew 

With hearts that heat in full accord, 

Dispersed the tyrant brutal horde! 

If faiths divide — they re-unite 

When men defend the Truth and Right! 

For cross and star 

But symbols are 
Of SACRIFICE— the badge of Light! 



36 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



KEEP THEM SMILING! 



It is little enough that they ask. 
As, faithful, they stand at their task. 
Bold — without fear — 

Between the bewildering crash 
Of forces, contending, that clash — 
Or, waiting in routine of drill 
The places of fallen to fill — 
Give them cheer! 

Keep them smiling! 
Comfort and cheer play a part; 
They strengthen the spirit and heart 
Of soldiers that win! 

The grasp of the hand and the word 
Of good counsel their memories stirred 
Of faith and their kin! 

Keep them smiling! 

The soldier's good is ours — 

It gives him, strength and powers. 

Divided creed is now forgot — 

THE BOYS WE LOVE! Forget THEM not! 
In union work! 
Let no one shirk! 
Keep them smiling! 



THE DREAM OF PEACE. 



A Dream, — an idle Dream! A Dream, they cry!- 
It gives a glory to the dream of life! 

Nor Deity could dream a hope more high 
Than the abolishment of hate and strife. 

With growth of reason Peace must forzvard lead: 
Shall men of reason slay their fellow-men? 

Justice must reign — not Might or Spite or Greed; 
The szvord must yield to thinker and to pen. 

War against war! Unceasing must it wage 
The war against the body's barriers or the soul. 

On! old and young! the strength of every age, 
Onward! and reach the prophet's goal! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL Z7 



WAR-WEARY. 



We are weary of slaughter and woe, 

Bloody world! 
Spring is here — with its gladness and glow, 

Do you hear the birds voicing 

And see the buds peeping 

Streams flowing, grass growing, 

All Nature rejoicing. 

Beauteous world! 

* * * 

Cease carnage and grief. 
Bloody world! 

We are sick of the suffering you send, 

Bloody world! 
Letting brothers with brothers contend. 

See the flowers fair blooming, 

The woodlands assuming 

Their bright, new green raiment 

And God's sky o'er arching. 

Joyous world! 

* * * 

0/ make the huge misery end, 
Bloody world! 

Let war cease! 

While you shoiver sorrow and death, 

Bloody world! 
The heavens rain gladness and breath 
To the blossoming earth! 

Lovely world! 
With Natitre so joyous 
Shall love not revive 
And friendship relive? 

Conclude the sad strife! 

* * * 

You, too, must be weary of war, — 
Bloody world! 

Give us peace! 

LET'S BE CHEERFUL. 



Let's be cheerful 

In these fearful 

Days of stress; 

Let's remember, 

Dark December 

Precedes springtime blessedness 



38 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

THE WAR IS DONE! 



With stirring drum the warriors come 
Heroes of Belleau Wood, Argonne! 
The war is done! The war is won! * * * 
We scan the ranks. Alas, for some 

That fell on hill, in vale and wood 
Where Right met Wrong to overthrow 
In trenches and where rivers flozv 
At every point they firmly stood. 

Oh long is the iinanszvered roll 
Our eyes grow dim and hearts are sore — 
But though zve see them never more — 
ON inarches each immortal soul! 

Hallowed by on affection fond 

On Memory's streets they stride along! 

Their sacrifice has forged a bond 

Than, even Death, more sure and strong! 

Oh heroes here and "over there" 
{Where war and contest are at end) 
Our cheers and tears commingled blend 
Our garland-wreaths you jointly share! 



. WILL THE NATIONS FORGET? 



Our sword has been girded — in armor wc stand 
As stood in the past, the brave Maccabee band! 
Our cause is as just — our courage as bold 
As that of those valiant heroes of old. 

They fought, as we fight, not for lands or for lust. 
They fought for their faith in the true and the just. 
O, costly the price — lives trodden in dust — 
Bre tryranny, vanquished, attempts its last thrust. 

But after the close of war's heart-rending woes — 

Will hatred live on? Will men still be foes? 

Will nations forget all the tears that it cost — 

The lives of their loved ones — fond hopes wrecked and lost? 

Or, from the abyss and the war-clouded night, — 
Will there rise the Aurora of God blessed Light 
To usher the day which humanity craves. 
When was is no more — no masters, no slaves — 
When justice shall reign and peace never fail — 
And prejudice die? 0, lift, thou dark veil! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 39 



THE AFTERMATH OF WAR. 



The unloosed War-wind with wild, shrieking bound 

Sends dozvn its snozv of dead, — {the flakes are red) 

Deluging all the one-time fertile ground. 

Barren and bare is now that ground instead ! 

Before War's frenzied gale, — in reckless fury driven. 
Like leaves of Autumn, men fall side by side: 

Dark is the landscape, — withered, riven — 

The cities that late blossomed in their pride. 

War's whirling waves rush with their fearful sweep : 
Millions of drops — (each drop a human breath) 

Destruction in their mad, tempestuous leap, 

Waste, wrack and woe, in the broad wake of Death. 

:)f. -^ ■ifi 

But God and Man a renascence demand! 

The shrunken autumn leaves but carpet earth for spring; 
Snowf lakes are warmth and moisture to the land; 

Upon the vaulting waves the ships their products bring. 

The trees will leave again; — the fields re-yield : 
The cities be rebuilt. — Ay! even tears will dry 

In time, — in time! — Man must go on 

Although it be through seas of misery! 

Above the deep abysses lofty heights we see! 

Day follows night: Through clouds the sunlight breaks; 
Sorrow and suffering link in bonds of sympathy : 
From silent Death a newer Life awakes! 

The aftermath of all this travail will be BIRTH: — 
A vision of the costly folly and the wrong : 

A better season shall dawn on the earth 

When stilled shall be the trumpet shrill and battle song 

In place of savage war and bestial brawl 

The friendship of the nations shall not cease. 

Men then will honor and respect the rights of all. 

And tranquil lands shall glozv with pleasant PEACE. 



40 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

THE ROSE OF A NEW BROTHERHOOD. 



Some wish that they had died 

Before the Fate-day came; 
Before the Slaughter raged zvorld-wide, 

To civilization's shame. 

Some wish that they had died 

While yet the nations heard 
The voice of Peace, — nor yet denied 

The prophets' guiding word. 

Yet shall they live to see. 
Arching the flood-high crimes, 

The Peace-bow bridge the blood-red sea 
With joy for after-times. 

Alillions of martyred dead 

This peace may not partake! 
In peace they rest — they fear nor dread! 

They sleep — tiot to awake! 

Beneath them buried all 

The passions that destroy. 
Be they the final ones to fall 

At call of Czar or "roi." 

Be with them buried strife, — 

War and its evil crew : 
Above them flourish with fresh life 

A Fellowship anew. 

Where grew the poison-weeds 

Of Hate and Greed and Blood, — 

There sow again the roses' seeds 
Of Love and Brotherhood! 





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POEMS OF CONTRAST 

diimBtiiiiiiiiiiiRiiimiiiiiiDiiuiiniiiiaiimiiniiioiiiiiiiiniiciiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiuiaiiiiiiiiiiiiBiiiiiiiiiiii. 
SUCCESS AND DEFEAT. 




SUCCESS. 
You have battled and won. You are proud! 

Success has entirely changed you! 
You scoff and you boast it aloud, 

And many true friends it estranged you! 
Success is a joy — but beware! 

Success can your merit dismember — 
The soul is not dross and not tare — 

Let pride not possess you! Remember! 



DEFEAT. 

You have struggled and failed! Well, what of it? 

Should you grieve or lament and grow bitter 
Because fickle Fortune has flouted 

And given to others her glitter? 
Rise! Let not your soul ever fear it — 

Nor let it to circumstance yield! 
As long as your mind holds its spirit 

The book of your fate is not sealed! 



BONDAGE AND LIBERTY. 



BONDAGE. 
To be in chains forever bound! 
What greater grief can fate impose! 
What sorrow can be more profound? 
It is the Woe of all the woes! 
Yet worse it is to be the slave 
Of fettered mind or spirit cold — 
Therein to find a living grave 
Wherein Life's beauties buried mould! 



LIBERTY. 
Freedom! What loftier bliss can be 
Than to be free — to no man thrall! 
FREE! — to do right — believing free- 
As heart and conscience truly call! 
FREE! — to aspire. Free — to observe 
The lazvs of Honor and of God: 
Free — to love Justice and to serve 
Mankind without the whip or rod! 



42 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



ART AND NATURE. 

ART. 

On canvas mirrored, hewn in stone 

Is beauty of surpassing worth: 
The sky, the sea, the woodland lone — 

Depicted loveliness of earth! 
I stand entranced and think how great 

Is man, whose chisel, pencil, brush 
Can Nature so well imitate! 

But — silent is the pictured thrush! 

NATURE. 
/ tread the earth. I sail the sea. 

I climb the lofty mountain-height 
And Nature in its majesty 

Enfolds me every day and night. 
I think not now of puny man: — 

/ hear the birds — / see the sun 
And marvel at the wondrous plan 

Of Nature's God — Eternal One! 



WORK AND SLOTH. 

WORK. 



Through labor civilisation grew — 

Elixir of the Infinite! 
Spirit and strength it doth renew — 

WORK is a lamp eternal lit! 
To till the soil — to build a state — 

lo cook — to sew — to teach — to nurse. 
To toil — to labor — to create: — 

Links each with all the universe. 

SLOTH. 
The devil's joy is idleness: 

His workshop is an idle mind, — 
For indolence is sin {unless 

From excess toil relief to find). 
Sloth is the paradise of fools. 

True joy is doing useful things. 
Only when action wisely rules — 

The heart zvith satisfaction sings. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 43 



FATE AND FREE-WILL. 



FATE 



All is ordained. Useless zve beat 

The prison bars that spell our fate! 
Our days are set — the road our feet 

Must traverse to the destined gate 
Of garden gay or desert drear! 

Our will is naught; great Fate is all 
We dare not hope, and vain is fear 

We drift on waves that rise and fall. 



FREE-WILL 

No fact is fixed — except that we 

Possess within us will and power 
That challenge Fate's false mastery! 

They bid us "Strive!" Each vital hour 
Is ours to use. There are no bars! 

We buffet Fate's contrary waves! 
Free is our will. We fix our stars — 

We are not Destiny's poor slaves! 



SICKNESS AND HEALTH. 



SICKNESS. 

Sad sick-bed sorrow! Joy shut out! 
The frame with pain and fever spent! 
Stern need of faith to quell the doubt 
Of trust in the Omnipotent! 
But human suffering strongly wakes 
Heart-sympathies and helpful hands! 
A gentler mankind anguish makes 
And god-like Pity it expands! 



HEALTH. 
Sweet, precious health! Peace beyond price! 
Red blood through every channel flows! 
The wood, the field, the stream entice — 
Life seems complete. No want it knows. 
No wantf Not virtue, love or friends? 
No art? No faith that will not die? 
Without these. Health but vainly tends 
The fill of Life to satisfy. 



44 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



SINNER AND SAINT. 



THE SINNER. 
You have sinned and your conscience will own it! 

From yourself you can nothing conceal. 
You concede it hut do you condone it? 

Does your heart any penitence feel? 
Do you feel the disgrace and defacing? 

Have you sought to atone for the sin 
By righting the wrong and retracing? 

If so, you may saintliness win. 



SAINT. 

You are saintly and pure — more than others. 

Can you feel for the fallen and say: 
"You, too, are my sisters and brothers!" 

And feel yourself, too, of their clay? 
If your heart remains cold, your worth lessens. 

Though your soul may be ever so chaste. 
Your purity lacks the true essence 

Unless 'tis by sympathy graced. 

YOUTH AND AGE. 



The years of youth so precious are! 
lis time with lovely prospects teems! 
The years of youth are better far 

For youth has health and hopes and dreams! 
(O, golden years! 
So free from tears!) 
(How soon 'tis sped! 
How quickly fled!) 
But if that youth is time misspent, 

Misused and caught in pleasure's net; 
Then youth is but a herald sent 
To usher in years of regret. 



The later years the better are! 

For age has harvests, ripened corn! 
Despite all sorrows, — better far! 

Red roses bloom betzvecn each thorn! 
(O, golden grain! 
Of memory's chain!) 
(In Memory's glass. 
The days repass!) 
Old age is only sad, if youth. 
Regarding life as idle jest. 
Failed to absorb the joyful truth 
That later years should be the be^t! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 45 



HEAVEN AND HELL 



(Note. — The exact location of Heaven and Hell being disputed, the 
editor has in the following lines sought to indicate his opinion of the 
possible situation.) 

In the heart where hate abides; 
In the mind where evil rules; 
In the folly that is Pride's; 

In the clutching gold of fools; 
In the tongue to mischief prone ; 

In foul slander's deadly fang ; 
In the life whence hope is fioivn; 

In the home where discords clang: — 
There is Hell, 



In the life where hope has nest; 

In the mind where wisdom reigns; 
In the heart by love possessed; 

In true labor's joys and pains; 
In the tongue where truth abides; 

In the striving, seeking soul; 
In the home where peace resides; 

In the faith that trusts the goal: — 
There is Heaven. 



FRIEND AND FOE. 



FRIEND.. 
You say you are a friend. Oho! 

You THINK you are! You often dine 
With me. You wish me well. We go 

To pleasures joined. All that is fine 
But — would you risk your spotless name 
Or place your life in jeopardy 
For me, if shame my name should claim f — 

My life is yours — if such you be! 



FOE. 
You are my foe. Your heart, for me, 

No welcome holds. Foul thoughts unkind 
Within you rise. MY enemy f 

YOUR OWN you are! O, stupid, blind! 
You spur me on! A careful guard 

My every action must attend, 
Thereby I gain and reap reward — 

My foe — / think you are my friend! 



46 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



TIME. 



THE AUTOCRAT. 
Time is an autocrat! 
Harshly he rules 
Wise men and fools: 
Heartless he moves 
Over the nations 
Through generations : 
Calmly he views 
With unconcern 
And visage stern 
War's devastation. 



THE DEMOCRAT. 
Time is a democrat! 
Gently he weaves 
Ties of strong brotherhood 
Firmly he links 
Man unto man 
Clan unto clan: 
Higher he writes 
In figures fine 
Toward the divine 
GOD'S PERFECT PLAN! 

ARISTOCRAT AND DEMOCRAT. 



ARISTOCRAT. 
Too proud to fight unless the weak to save! 
To hate, too haughty — hating only wrong! 
An autocrat insisting — to the grave — 
That right he rendered where the right belongs. 
His privilege — good deeds that to him hind 
Good men. Noble by worth, not title, birth or blood. 
Aristocrat in truth — of heart and mind! 
Prince Royal — of the House of Brotherhood! 



DEMOCRAT. 

He sees all men alike as peas or pence. 

Sad fallacy! Not merely skin 

But mind and nature — faith, intelligence 

Divide men — though all men are kin. 

A democrat is he, who, though he knows 

This truth — still feels concordant in his heart 

The spirit of a fellowship that glows 

And, bridging gulfs, makes him of them a part. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 47 

DESPAIR AND HOPE. 



DESPAIR. 
Have you felt the mad mood of Despair 

When Life seems so useless and vain? 
The day has no light. All the air 

Is clouded with sorrow and pain. 
The present is dark — and ahead 

The prospect is blacker — Despair! 
Faith, trust and belief are all dead! 

Day dawns but to bring a new care. 

(We count all our griefs and their fill 
Makes Life seem unworthy and ill.) 



HOPE. 
Have you felt the fine spirit of Hope 

With its warmth and its balm to the feet? 
It arms us with problems to cope 

With joy every morrow we greet. 
Refreshed we arise — and we dare! 

Faith beckons — and fears take their flight 
For Hope is the foe of despair — 

Hope shows us the stars in the night! 

(We count all our joys — as we should — 
And life becomes lovely and good.) 

PESSIMIST AND OPTIMIST. 



THE PESSIMIST. 
All life is vain! To have been born 
Is curse and sad calamity! 
To live is wearisome, forlorn — 
A breathing, hollow mockery! 
Age brings but care, bereavement, death 
Why birth? Why life that ends in pain? 
It has no purpose. The last breath 
Is marked by fear! All life is vain! 



THE OPTIMIST. 

Life is a privilege, to prize 

And to accept with noble zest: 

Each vital day to utilize 

To make life blest and not a jest! 

TO LIVE! To use our precious days 

For worthy aims — what joy so keen! 

To love and labor in good ways 

And then face death with faith serene! 



48 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

THE YEARS— THE YEARS! 



The weary years! 
Of ceaseless toil, of pain and grief, 
Of disillusion, unbelief: — 

The useless years! 
Goals unachieved, of hope bereaved; 
The Z'istas veiled, the heights unsealed; 
So stern the chase, so slozv the pace : — 

.The tedious years! 



The brief, bright years! 
With action filled and broadened thought; 
With love and hope and good deeds fraught 

The priceless years! 
With righted wrongs and joyous songs; 
With loftier life and lessened strife : — 
Too fast they fly — too soon they die, 

The fair, the precious, fruitful years! 



A NEW YEAR DAWNS! 



A YEAR IS CLOSED! We backward glance 
And see our errors, losses, sins. 
We mourn our failure to advance 
And in this thought, despair begins 

To fetter us. For — did we not, 
A year ago, resolve our part 
To nobly play? How zve forgot 
The resolutions of the heart! 



A NEW YEAR DAWNS! With hope anew 
Our courage, with a fresh-born fire, 
Rezivcs and thrills us through and through 
With earnest and intense desire. 

We feel our strength again arise — 
A voice sounds clear above the strife: 
"Upward! — Exert the will! Be wise! 
The New Year brings a better life!" 





\ 




THE WRATH OF MOSES 
(Statue by Prof. Herter) 




MIRIAM AND THE INFANT MOSES 
(From the Painting by Delaroche) 




CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN. 



{February 12, 1909, marked the lOOth year of his precious birth.) 

Her heart Dame Nature to him showed; 

See! through all times 
Creation climbs! 

By toilsome steps, up Life's steep road 

His keen eyes read the cryptic word, 

His mind discerned 
How, throughout all, instinctive stirred 

And ceaseless burned 

THE WILL TO LIVE! Bach thing of earth 

Is driven on: — 
Adapts and seeks and strives from birth 

Till life is won. 

Thus Man advanced since that First Morn 

Of cosmic breath. 
Through suns and snows since Earth was born — 

Up, on through Death! 

On, up we mount — but not on wings! 

Slowly each soul 
In travail striving, nearer brings 

The summit-goal! 

More lofty by its wondrous wand. 

More fair, more broad, — 
Our lives, our deeds, our thoughts expand, — 
Aye! Even our God! 

On! All evolves! Nor will it rest 

Till there survives 
The fittest, finest, fairest, best 

Of Life that lives! 



50 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



JOHN HAY. 

{Secretary of State of the United States, 1898. Died, 1905.) 

A scholar, poet, patriot and man 

Whose loss might any country well deplore. 

Is silenced by the might of that mysterious plan 
That marks a Finis even to the ocean's shore. 

No more his skillful mind will cope with craft 
To safeguard public welfare, liberty and peace; 

No more his heart inspire his soul to waft 

Fair thoughts in verse: Death has commanded "Cease." 

But not forgot, for service to the state and human kind, 

Writ bold in letters luminous as day. 
Within the chambers of each thoughtful mind, 

His name's brief syllables shall live — JOHN HAY. 



SCHILLER IN AMERICA. 



(On the 100th anniversary of the poet's death.) 

Columbia speaks: "I call him mine! 

With patriot peers let stand enrolled 
His splendid name! Fair doth it shine 

As one whose faith and heart were bold!" 

America no alien earth 

To one who hated slavish chains; 

The Fatherland may claim his birth, 
But here his truer spirit reigns. 

Fitting the festival, — sing the praise 
Of Freedom's bard on Freedom's soil! 

Fairly bestowed the wreath and bays 
On one who sang through stress and toil. 

Of Love, of Liberty, — the Ideal 

That knows no country, creed or clan. 

Forevermore Fame's "Bell" shall peal 
For those who champion rights of man! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL .SI 

IN MEMORIAM. 
Walter L. Sheldon 



His last words were : "Goodbye ! All is well ! My love to all ! Auf 
wiedersehen !" 

Your mission was in Life to seek the Light, 

And finding, teach to us of minor mind 
The loveliness of Love, the majesty of Right, 

The virtue of respect and Justice to mankind. 

But the mysterious Might {to whose control 

We how), a greater task upon you laid : 
Chose you to show us how with hopeful soul 

To greet Death bravely, calmly, unafraid. 

"Good-bye. ' All's well!" your dying lips have said; 

"My love to all!" "Auf Wiedersehen!" A grace 
Of mingled joy and grief those words have bred 

A grief and joy that Time will ne'er efface. 

Upon the tongues and in the hearts you knew. 

Amid the sadness of the loss and pain. 
We echo hopefully "Good-bye!" "Our love to you!" 

"Auf Wiedersehen!" "Yes!" "Auf Wiedersehen" 



IN MEMORIAM. 
F. Louis Soldan. 



His noble life well aided hath 
To clear Minerva's widening path. 
No Finis to his task could be — 
For knowledge spells infinity! 
(The work goes on!) 

A soldier was he to the cause 

Of Education's truest lazvs. 

{The work goes on!) 

Such men of worth we miss and mourn — 
But though tears well and hearts be torn 
As leaders fall, new men must strive 
To keep the treasure-torch alive! 
{We must go on!) 

Folded his hands, his heart at rest! 
Yet grows the work that he loved best — 
The spread of knowledge, science, art 
And all that gives life soul and heart — 
THAT work goes on! 



52 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



TO A SEPTUAGENARIAN. 
TO W. S. 



(In honor of the 70th anniversary of his useful Hfe.) 

"By the great Styx!" the ancient gods did swear; 

(Naught care we now for mythic gods or streams), 
A cheerier Charon far is William Stix to hear 

Sad souls to joy. — His eye with goodness beams. 

Wealth has not made him pompous, proud or vain; 

The children know his heart and love him well; 
His life their loss has lightened and their pain 

In orphaned blessing-chorus they his merits tell. 

O men of means, of money and of might — 

Take heed from him! Use well your pelf and power, 

That in you we may likewise take delight 
And tender you our homage in your hour! 

Think of all those whom unkind fate has struck 

With ills that yau can scatter. Base 
Their burdens from your store of luck; 

Refresh them, as on desert strands a welcome breeze. 

The world from his example and its kind 

Attunes its song to a more joyful mood, 
Declaring: "Not all men are callous, cold or blind," 

Refreshed, it journeys on with faith renewed. 

Rich in respect — in deeds and service rife, 

Throned in the grace of three-score years and ten, 

With greater joy — what finer gift has Life 
Than crowns this kind benevolent of menf 

Long may his years extend for further good; 

The Shadow keep its scythe for baser weeds; 
God grant us more like him, with love imbued 

To serve the helpless and the orphans' needs! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 53 



THE SETTLEMENT WORKERS. 
(To J. A.) 



You link, in sympathy, your fate 
With those whom Fortune seems to shun, — 
The poor oppressed, disconsolate. — 
Feeling the human bond as one, 

Your gifts, fraternally, you bring 

To fellow-mortals, illy born. 

You grieve with them. Their suffering 

You feel — their joys, their thorn. 

The dispossessed, the pawns of chance, — 

Fair youth uncared for, uncaressed, — 

The derelicts of circumstance, — 

THEY know your worth, and call you blessed. 

With interchange of heart and heart 
Life's wounds are balsamed : feelings fuse 
The void grows less — the dark departs 
Love's brightening glow the landscape strews. 

Press on! The battle rages high 
*Gainst want, 'gainst ij^norance and sin! 
Forward! with faith triumphantly 
Advance, anointed ones and win 

In beating hearts that hope new-fills, 
In gratitude of ages hence, 
In inner bliss that good instils, — 
The guerdon of God's recompense. 

Toil on ye saints! Till time — 'twill come — 

When wisdom-taught and justice-led 

Humanity will solve its sum. 

Then shall from earth be misery fled. — 

(Exalted by their noble dream) 

Justice shall rule and Wrong shall quake 

And Righteousness run as a stream. 



54 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



TO AN OCTOGENARIAN. 

(Mrs. H. S.) 



Resplendent shine your virtues and your years 
Upon a world where folly, pride and sin 

Mislead us with their senseless aims and fears, 
And cheat us of Life's best, with mocking grin. 

With love, respect and joy your age is filled; 

And though Grief, too, has cast its shad ow-wr ait h,- 
Yoiir heart and hope like stars undimmed, unstilled. 

Gleam on to prove the passion of your faith. 

Time brings us pain and suffering to endure, — 
Steals from us our ambitions, treasures, friends; 

Time teaches patience, lends to sorrow cure. 
And — if well-spent — a crown of glory sends. 

Rich, full-orbed lives, like yours, of grace and length 
Serve well to guide our swerving souls aright; 

They cheer us on to strive with nobler strength 
To live our best until the last Goodnight! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 55 



HELEN KELLER. 



(Written after hearing the recital of the marvelous labors of Mrs. 
Macy, teacher of Helen Keller, the born deaf, blind and dumb human 
miracle, and witnessing Miss Keller's demonstration of her wonder- 
ful achievements.) 

She cannot see the stars, — the great sun's golden glow! 

But then she cannot see the slum's disgusting shame : — 
She sees not snow or greenwood, or tinted, shimmering bow. 

But she is spared the sight of gore that human hands defame. 

Mute and unheard are Music*s glorious symphonies; 

But then she hears not moaning, piteous cries for bread! 
Vainly, for her, the birds trill their sweet melodies: — 

She hears not Slander, warring din, nor wailing for the dead! 

But she can FBBL the faith in God and life! 

Her heart can throb for those whose lives are bare! 
And she can sense the joy of effort, fruitful, rife, — 

That others zvill not see nor hear nor care! 

And she can hate injustice, and despise 

The ogre of Despair that others, trembling, fear — 
On ashes gray, Hope and Achievement rise 
Bright noonday shines out through her darkened skies. 
And a soul blooms, — where else were desert drear. 



U. S. ADMIRAL ROBERT E. PEARY. 

Discoverer of the North Pole 



He gained his prise — the distant Pole, 
Its packs and perils he o'ercame. 

Now seeks his soul a further goal — 
Leaving behind his name and fame. 

Cold is his earth — but zvarm the zone 

Of hearts that hold his memory high. 

His spirit sails not on alone — 

He lives in deathless company 

With those who, in the frozen North, 
Fell there the cruel ice-king's prey : 

Men who, intrepid ventured forth 

Where Arctic wastes and wilds betray. 

Amid the friends that knew him best. 
Upon his dear-loved, native sod — 
AMERICA, — he takes his rest; 
His fearless soul is near to God! 



56 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



DREYFUS SHOT! 



They have tried it. Where plotting, chicanery, perjury and 
villainy failed to accomplish, the assassin's bullet was used, and Drey- 
fus is wounded, the foul result of a cowardly unsuccessful attempt to 
kill him. 

And at the tomb of Zola! 

At the grave of the man who defied the world to see justice done 
to a defenseless Jew, the same Jew falls a victim to the rancor, the 
shameless, dastardly conspirators who exhausting every engine of 
their hate, turned finally to that last resort of cowards — attempted 
murder. 

Dreyfus' wrongs are an inafifaceable blot on France. Not a mil- 
lion years nor a million martyrs, even such as Zola, can ever wipe 
it out. 



THE DREYFUS VINDICATION. 



Forty French judges of the Court of Cassation have declared 
Dreyfus innocent. His vindication will be published officially in one 
hundred journals in France. Dreyfus will be restored to his rank. 
Possibly he will be advanced above a captaincy. 

All this is vindication, is it not? Yet where is the atonement 
for the years of mental agony, of physical suffering, of public shame, 
of obloquy and dishonor borne till now by this unfortunate Jew and 
his devoted family? 

He declined financial reimbursement. He waived pecuniary in- 
demnity and rightly. 

Could money pay for years of agonizing solitude on Devil's 
Island? Could dollars pay for days of separation from his dear ones? 
Could hateful francs piled mountain high erase the hours of torment, 
the bitterness of suffering that he and his have undergone since that 
damnable plot to kill a character first saw the light? 

No vindication, not even one by forty judges, can make full- 
amends. Dreyfus can be only given back the smaller part of what 
was taken from him. The rest is gone, irretrievably gone. 

His life typifies the Jewish people. Persecuted, degraded and 
punished unjustly, the Jewish people has suffered and is enduring 
through the centuries. They have their Devil's Island in Russia. 
They have had their merciless Merciers and their Cavaignacs. 

But the Jewish people, too, have their defenders, their Zolas 
and Piquarts. 

And for the Jewish people, as for Dreyfus, will come the final 
vindication of their innocence and of their unjust centuries of suffer- 

The Court of Progress and Civilization will declare the verdict to 
the world. Then the world's good name will be in part restored, as 
France's shame has been, in part, reduced by the Dreyfus vindication. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 57 



THE SOUL OF ZOLA. 



Zola's body is to rest in state in France's Pantheon. Does Zola's soul 
know aught of this post-mortem honor shown his body's clay? Does 
Zola's soul care aught for it if it does know ? 

Shall we feel joyed to see this belated recognition of the man who had 
that rarest trait in men, the courage to defy the popular prejudices and the 
"upper classes," when such defiance meant material and social loss 
and detriment? 

For Zola or his soul the Pantheon as a resting place can have no 
meaning. His service as a friend of justice and of persecuted Jew, 
found him a Pantheon while he was still living in the hearts of every 
honest and fair-minded man. 

The placing of his body now in state in this Hall of Fame of 
France is only the usual confession of the world like that of many a hu- 
man being as it wails : "We did not know your worth until it was too 
late. We seek to make amends." 



VALE ZOLA! 



Zola is dead. Not every one will mourn his taking off. But by 
one grand act of his strenuous life he shall live on in memory. 

That noble, unforgettable action was his courageous champion- 
ship of Dreyfus, the despised, in the face of France (or those who 
posed as the powers of that land.) 

Bad will be said of Zola. Yet say he was a prurient writer ! Say 
he was a sensationalist. Say he was miserly, shallow, a degenerate. 
Say anything, but remember that he stood for Justice, when none 
other dared ! He bore revilement, ridicule, violence and banishment 
for that great principle of right to a man who had been wronged, — 
and that man a Jew. 

Religion teaches nothing higher. He personified the love of jus- 
tice and beneath his writing's realism, he showed the love of man. 

His death is a deplorable loss to the world, and to mankind. 



58 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



MADAME DREYFUS. 



No journal has failed to dwell with more or less elaboration on 
the "triumph of justice," the "vindication of innocence," and other 
sentiments superinduced by the Dreyfus happy finale. 

But would there have been a triumph of justice or a vindication 
of innocence, if justice and innocence had been left passive to work 
out their own salvation? Add even, if you will, the labors of Labori, 
Zola and Picquart, would truth have won? 

No! A Madame Dreyfus, determined, faithful, active, loving 
and indefatigable, was the final needed factor which, in this case 
gave the work of vindication and of justice the momentum that 
drove it to its great successful sequel. 

The power of woman ! She can be help or hindrance, angel or 
Medusa, Antigone or Circe, Ruth or Jezebel, Deborah or Delilah, 
as nature, temperament and circumstance conspire to make her, an 
irresistible agent of Hfe or death to man and to humanity. 

The charge against the modern woman is not that she is evil, 
but that she is frivolous, trivial and superficial. 

It is for these skeptics and doubters of the earnestness of mod- 
ern womanhood, her fidelity and intelligence, as evidenced by Madame 
Dreyfus, that we dilate with much delight upon her splendid heroism, 
with which she is reported to have wrought, herculean-like, in his 
behalf and that of righteousness. We commend her devotion and 
its felicitous issue as a modern instance of ancient virtues in the 
womanhood of Israel. 

May her tribe increase! May her humble heroism be a pattern 
for the emulation of her sisters everywhere, and for the admiration 
of a sterner sex that is too prone to dwell on woman's weakness to 
the forgetfulness of her eclipsing virtues. Vive, Madame Dreyfus I 



9 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 59 

THE PEDDLER'S LAMENT. 



(Translated from the Yiddish.) 

My pack 1 carry m my hand 

'while weak and worn I cry 
From house to house, from door to door. 
Patient I plod, fatigued, heartsore, 

And plead: ''Oh, will you buy?" 

My steps are weary from my task, 

But on I wander, — on! 
My heart is sad. For naught I care, 
Bach minute counts so precious, rare 

Time flies — it will be gone. 

At home, far off, waits pallid wife 

And hungry little brood, 
"Your daddy dear will soon be here 
With food, you'll see, so do not fear. 

Dear child! Cry not! Be good!" 

Bach cruel word assails my heart; 

My pain they deeper brand. 
Oh, what so great has been my sin 
That I am thus denied my kin? 

Give me to understand! 

Why hath for me Life no regard — 

My human cravings thirst? 
I know not, no! — Ah, yes, — / know! 
A tear bedews my fevered brow — 

"THY PBOPLB ARB ACCURSED!" 

Tell me how long I must yet grieve 

And when will I be dead? 
And shall I go to Death's sure bower 
Without a joy or sunny hour 

In suffering, need and dread? 

I ask the world, — and it is dumb! 

My heart, oh, give me word! 
My cup of woe wtih grief o'er flows, 
God, the Omniscient, silent, — knows! 

My pangs — my plaint unheard! 

On must I drag my irksome way. 

Trudging from early dawn. — 
Oh, buy of me, as sad I roam, 
"A scissors?" "Knife?" "A splendid comb?"- 

And I will journey on! 



60 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE CONFIRMATION OF BRANDEIS. 



A brilliant chapter has been added to the history and fame of the 
United States. 

There are battles other than those where blood is shed. 

The triumph of an ideal is worth more to humanity than the 
holding of the Aisne or the taking of Verdun, 

Such a notable and significant victory of principle is the confirma- 
tion of Louis D. Brandeis, a Jew, to the Supreme Bench of the great 
United States. 

The "Great" United States is the proper description to apply 
to a land, where, despite political manoeuvering, conspiracies of cap- 
ital and malice of sectarian spite, a man of Jewish faith and blood 
can come into his own and be exalted to a place hardly second to that 
of the President of the United States — in our opinion higher — for it 
demands loftier capacity of mind and wider concepts of cause and 
effect than even the position of the President. 

As we view this remarkable exhibition of successful democracy 
which the acceptance of Brandeis as Justice signifies, must we not 
be optimistic for the future? 

Does it not give a stimulating confidence, a buoyant hope that 
men are gradually rising from the noisome depths of prejudice unto 
the purer air of justice and of judgment by fitness and merit? 

It is easy to deny the progress of humanity in the realms of toler- 
ance. That human hatreds or misunderstandings can ever be wholly 
eradicated is more than can be hoped — but that — slowly but surely — 
we are developing, driving further away the demons of intolerance, 
unfairness and unjustified discrimination; that indubitable fact the 
bloodless but thrilling and far-reaching victory in the Brandeis case 
of American ideals over anti-Jewish and sectarian bias amply and 
conclusively demonstrates to the densest mind. 

For the Jewish people of America the confirmation of Justice 
Brandeis is a great gratification. For the entire body of American 
citizenship it should be an epochal event, marking the demolition of 
another barrier against unity in spite of difference of religious views. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 61 



A JEWISH LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 



(Earl Reading, Lord Chief-Justice of Great Britain was formerly 
Sir Rufus Isaacs.) 



Sir Rufus Isaacs, a professing Jew, has been selected as the Lord 
Chief Justice of all England. 

True, D'Israeli, (Lord Beaconsfield), Prime Minister of Queen 
Victoria, was a Jew, but he had accepted baptism. 

This elevation of a co-religionist to such a pinnacle of honor, 
gives a thrill of exultation to the Jewish people that it would be 
folly to disguise. 

Sir Isaacs is not flawless. Perhaps he is worse, perhaps better, 
than his friends or enemies, respectively, portray him. Who is per- 
fect ? 

Whatever faults or virtues he possesses, it is incredible that any 
man could be so chosen, elected or appointed, to such a conspicuously 
lofty and exalted place, unless he was exceptionally able and par- 
ticularly fitted. England is too big and too conservative, to put 
into the office of Chief Justice of its land, one not entitled to the 
office by his native merit or attainments. If he made a misstep in his 
dealings in Marconi shares, with Lloyd George, it has been acknowl- 
edged, and their service past, present and future to their land will 
nullify this delinquency, if such it was. 

The joyous fact, that a Jewish leader is honored by a nation 
such as England, is the best good news the Jewish people have re- 
ceived in many years. It honors them and honors England — for it 
places that country highest in the scale of recognition of Jewish 
statesmanship and great capacity for service to the state. 

What a rebuke to Russia ! What an antipodal contrast in treat- 
ment of the Jew ! What a shining lustre to the glory of the Jewish 
name! 



62 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE FATE OF THE CZAR. 



It must seem more like a horrid nightmare than a grim reality to 
the former Czar of Russia to find himself suddenly transported, as the 
news dispatches state, from the palace of Tsarkoe-Selo to the isolated 
wilds of far-away Siberia. 

SIBERIA! 

What horrors those surroundings must bring home to him ! Here 
in that distant dismal territory, innumerable victims of his former auto- 
cratic power suffered the miseries of banishment, maltreatment and ig- 
nominious death. 

Every morning as he rises he will look upon a landscape blotted by 
the black acts which his hand directed, or could have stayed. Every 
night as he lies down, spectres of the thousands whose lives and happi- 
ness he wrecked, or could have saved, will rise to banish sleep. 

His removal to Siberia is said to have been made for the double 
reason of his own protection and to prevent a possibility of any reaction- 
ary step to restore his former power. 

His ultimate fate can hardly be predicted until we see what comes 
out of the seething Russian maelstrom. 

Whether so intended or not, the Czar's transportation to Siberia 
seems like retributive justice and almost studied punishment to fit his 
many crimes. 

If he has a conscience, death itself might be preferred to the exist- 
ence and the fate that now is his. 

As Shakespeare makes "King Richard" say, so may the Czar, now, 
too, lament : 

"My conscience hath a thousand several tongues 
And every tongue brings in a several tale 
And every tale condemns me. . . . 
All thronging to the bar 

Cry 'Guilty ! Guilty !' There is no creature loves me ; 
And if I die, no soul shall pity me : 
Nay, wherefore should they, since that I myself 
Find in my self no pity to myself?" 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 63 



ADOLPHUS BUSCH'S BEQUEST. 



Among liberal gifts to many classes, charities and denomina- 
tions, the late Adolphus Busch bequeathed $10,000 to the Jewish 
Hospital. 

Gifts to Jewish institutions by non-Jewish people are not so 
frequent that we can complacently accept them without comment 
or appreciation. 

In giving this $10,000 to the Jewish Hospital, at his death, Mr. 
Busch consistently demonstrated the broad and liberal, generous, 
open-handed public spirit of his life, that recognized no creed of 
color limitations. 

What are creeds and dogmas to a true and noble man? 

This interdenominational giving without regard to bounds of sect 
or nationality is one of the most favorable symptoms of the modern 
mental growth and tolerance of the times. 

Mr. Busch's gifts will give a proper indication of the scope for 
his inheritors to follow, and we believe that much of what he left will 
yet be used for public good and welfare. 

That he had ample means to give does not belittle what he did, 
— for, it is almost a rule that rich people are close and far from 
generous. The exceptions, like Mr. Busch, shine out efTulgently by 
contrast. 

There was no minister or priest at Mr, Busch's grave, to make 
a sanctimonious eulogy of him, but from what we learn and know, 
Adolphus Busch possessed those true requisites of religion, — a love 
of justice and of humanity. 

Every winter, we are told, the Soulard Street Police Station had 
standing orders from him to provide free coal to each and to every 
family that needed it throughout that section. 

He instanced his charitable feeling in many other ways. His 
generosity to the Jewish Hospital was but one phase of this spirit. 
He left a fortune — but with it he gave his heirs something more 
precious than the millions — A GOOD NAME. 

Oh, for many more men of the hope-stimulating stamp of him 
the world knew as Adolphus Busch ! 



64 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE DEATH OF JOSEPH FELS. 



The anniversary of the birthday of George Washington marked the 
closing day of earthly life for Joseph Fels. 

The least that any modern journal can do is to note with sympa- 
thetic interest those of every people, who have contributed or leave 
an impress on the march and progress of mankind. 

To this class surely Joseph Fels belongs. Detractors called him 
"crank" and "advertiser." Admirers saw him as a savior and redeemer 
of the dispossessed. 

The truth is usually midway between the slanders of the opposition 
and the adulation of the follower. 

Joseph Fels was intensely Jewish in his zeal for justice. Whether or 
not his view of single tax as the best method of salvation or the truest 
remedy for economic inequality was right, or only the exaggeration of 
an earnest apostle, is not the specific point that needs consideration. 

Rather let us keep in mind the incontrovertible fact, that this man 
of means, confessed, publicly, the illegitimacy of what most men regard 
as the justifiable accumulation of money. Further he dedicated his 
life and his fortune, not to charity, but to prove his fixed belief in the 
possibihty of righting social injustice in the world. 

A man who declares, and labors, for justice, is true to the highest 
ideal of Judaism. The correctness of his method is altogether secondary 
to the godlike and exalted truth, that justice to humanity is his passionate 
desire. 

When his hand and heart and purse are in unison in the sincere ef- 
fort to effect this wish for the redemption of humanity, we honor and 
respect him. 

Joseph Fels was such a type. He illustrated that better and nobler 
Jewish manhood, evidenced in life, that serves us as a beacon-flame of 
confidence in high unselfishness and liberal generosity of soul of which 
our faith declares mankind is ever capable, even in the material age in 
which we live. 




SPRING DAYS 



•prtng lays Again! 



Spring Days again! And with them, as before. 

The fragrant air — the greenwood full of singing — 

The flowery carnival — and (God hethanked!) no more 
The reign of Mars to households sorrow bringing! 



We think of those for whom we yearning sigh! 

They heed not Nature's floral-choral calling! 
Beneath earth's coverlet they silent lie, 

While all around is wondrous life enthralling. 



We think of the unborn that shall see Spring 

When we have joined the dear ones quiet-resting , 

The generations that the coming years shall bring 
When other birds in other boughs are nesting. 



We hearken to fair Spring's enchanting lute — _ 

Bach leaf, each bud and blade, each bird with music trilling 
Tells of things past and of the future's fruit — 

Our minds with memories and our hearts hope-filling. 



SPRING! Be to us a sign! Thy ever-new 

And ever-old rejuvenated striving! 
wondrous marvel — Spring — be thou a pattern tr ue 

Of our immortal hope — of life from death reviving! 




SHYLOCK" 
(As portrayed by Sir John Forbes-Robertson) 



iiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiimiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiniiiiiiaiimiiiiinniiiiiiiniiinmiimiiiici^ 

FESTAL AND MEMORIAL 

HiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiumiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiimiiuiiiMiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiii^ 

A ^ 4 




THANKSGIVING. 



Be thankful that you see, 
With keen, delighted eye 

God's daily miracle 

Of sun, moon, stars and sky 

That shine in splendor still: 

* * * 

O sun and stars and sky! 

Be thankful if you feel. 

With heroes great and small. 

Who by their might have wrought 
Release from ancient thrall: 

To newer higher thought: 

* * * 

heroes brave that fought! 

Be grateful you can give. 
Kind zvord, or toil or gold. 

To works of noble worth 
And thereby help to mold. 

Justice and joy on earth: 

* * * 

O never grow we cold! 

Rejoice if you but live, 

To zvitness how the way 
Of progress grows apace: 

How shines the coming day 

Of hope for all the race! 

* * * 

Forward we turn our face! 



66 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

AT THE TEMPLE GATES. 

{Suggested by the dedication of Temple Israel, St. Louis) 



Who enters here should leave behind 

His weaker self; 
The frets and cares of daily grind, 

The pride of self. 

Who enters here should leave behind 

The greed of gold; 
Bnjoy here larger thoughts of mind 

Thoughts manifold. 

Of Life's short span: its greatness, too, 
The vanities of pomp and power, 

The rapture of hearts righteous, true 
The pains that sin and passion flower; — 

Old Israel's past, with honor filled; 

New Israel's present prospect fair ; 
All Israel's hope, to trust and build 

With other faiths to work and share. 

Be every soul a Scroll of Truth, 

Bach act respect the Ten Commands, 

Hope's Ark enclose an age-long youth, 
The Palm of Peace in all men's hands. 

The Candelabra, — Knowledge, — gives 

To faith and reason seeing eyes; 
Our Shield of David, Honor, lives! 

Our Shofar is the wronged one's cries. 

Let not the worshiper forget 

Who enters Israel's Temple gates 

The obligation and the debt 
That ever in us palpitates: 

To live the faith by living right 

The daily life of man with man: 
By loving justice, mercy, light: — 

By aiding every thought and plan 

That ushers in that Day of Days, 

When every home and heart will hold 

Its Temples true: of which the praise 

Will be good deeds and staunch hearts bold: — 

That Time, by prophet seers foretold. 
When lustice with perpetual Light 

Shall shine on men of every fold 
And by its gleam their hearts unite. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 67 



A TOAST. 



(Dedicated to Alissouri Lodge, Independent Order B'nai B'rith, on the 
occasion of its fiftieth Golden Jubilee Celebration, November 23, 1905.) 



A toast to our leaders, both present and past, 

Who led us through all tribulation. 
And brought us through sunshine and showers at last 

To shine in this great constellation! 

A toast to this land of the brave and the free^ 
Where rank is no stamp of one's station! 

May we help to maintain it, from sea unto sea, 
An united, invincible nation! 

A thought to the dead! Their efforts have set 

Examples for high emulation; 
Their lives and their labors zve will not forget^ 

They glow as our best inspiration! 

We do not forget in this season of mirth. 
The Russian-wrought , sad devastation; 

From the West to the East, o'er the face of the earth, 
Sounds the shame and the fierce indignation! 

A toast to the brothers of all the B. B., 

To each and to all be laudation; 

Their active endeavors may finally see 

A downtrodden people's salvation. 

A toast to the ladies! Each bright, charming face 

Compels our complete admiration ; 
We welcome and thank them for adding their grace 

To heighten this glad demonstration. 

A toast to Missouri Lodge, now let us quaff, 

To wind up this fair jubilation! 
A health to us all! May we live, meet and laugh 

At the next fifty year^ celebration! 




68 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

ON PIONEERS! 



(Dedicated to the Jewish Woman's organization of St. Louis, which 
celebrated thirty years of continuous existence Friday, January 24, 1908.) 



Through thirty circuits of the sun 
Your web of study you have spun, 
Through thirty years the sands have run 
Teaching life's learning just begun. 

As Ruth gleaned in rich Boas' field 

So in the lovely great domain 
Of literature and art's vast yield 

You sought to glean the golden grain 
Through thirty years. 

As Deborah of distant time 

In "War and Peace" judged every deed, 
So prose, philosophy and rhyme 

You analysed; gave each its meed. 

As Miriam succored Moses great 

From tyrant Pharoah's threatening maw, 

So may you guard our precious State, 
Our homes, our children, faith and law. 
Through coming years. 

Like Esther, womanly and fair 

Approval's sceptre greets your band 

As boldly up the heights you dare 
"To understand!" be your command. 

Deborah, Miriam, Esther, Ruth, — 

High prototypes! Your course be clear! 

In conscious womanhood and truth 
Flow on your future's bright career 
Through all the years. 

Modern in all of newer good. 

Ancient alone in virtues old, 
Duty your star, and rectitude 
In all your studies manifold 
Live on for years 
Glad Pioneers! 




SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



69 



TO A CENTENARIAN. 



He saw Napoleon's star ascend — 

And sink — saw nations fade. 
He witnessed despotism end; 

He saw the progress man has made! 

How over mountains man can soar, 
And under oceans ride at ease, 

Can steam through waves while tempests roar, 
And talk o'er leagues of wildest seas! 

How much of passion, laughter, tears. 
Of marvels great of God and man 

Has he observed through all these years — 
This centenarian in his span! 

Yet all his years are hut a jot 

Of Time and of Eternity! 
What he has seen as hut a dot 

Of all that was and is to he! 

Through all ht.s years the gleaming stars 
Their courses kept. The sun and moon 

Their splendor shed on many wars 
On battles lost and battles won. 

The stars shine on! Dare we be proud f 
Yes, for, like stars, we also live 

Eternally in spite of shroud 
By the rejected light we give! 

If short or long — our days of breath 
Mean naught unless they speak a Soul — 

For what is Life and what is Death 
But one connected wondrous whole? 




70 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

HOME. 



They tell us in the Ancient Book, 
That mortals lost the Bden Garden 

Where all was perfect — every nook, 
Breathed joy — and gentle Peace was warden, 

There was no toil or care or sorrow, 
No tears or troubles for today — 

No fears or terrors of tomorrow — 
Felicity and bliss held sway. 

THAT Eden, fabled, is no more, 
Now scattered into thousand parts. 

Each stray bit is the precious store. 
Of some pure, faithful, striving hearts 

That prize it dear, and hold it fast. 

Love smiles its grace from heavenly dome. 

On this new Eden, that will last. 
To bless mankind. They call it HOME! 



A BENEDICTION TO MOTHERS. 



We pray the Power that fashioned All, 
To bless the toiling nights and days 
Of mothers. Idle is the praise 
Of their devotion to their call. 

MOTHER — Love's slave! She is not blind! 
Her high horizon wider grown. 
Sees now the welfare of her own 
Closely in that of all entwined. 

Not blindly now she slaves and serves. 
The causes that affect her brood; 
The near, remote, the bad, the good 
She studies, marshals strength, nor swerves. 

She fosters those, that spring-like, kiss 
To larger life; fights those that prey 
On youth's fair buds. Through mothers may 
Earth yet gain heav'n by sacrifice! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 71 



RUSSIA. 

(at the czar's dethronement.) 



The evil spell is ended. The dragon of misrule 
By the Siegfriedian sword of Freedom 
Now vanquished writhes. Through woods and fields 
The people come rejoicing, singing a new song, — 
The Song of Liberty. 

The day-dawn of deliverance overspreads 

The land. The rainbow of fair hope and promise 

Arches in glory to Siberia's snows. 

Long has the hour been waited for 
And prayed. Through sombre days and nights 
Of centuries — woe-filled with grief and gloom 
Brave martyrs bled, while Freedom lay entombed 
As one dead-seeming. 

But Liberty is an Immortal, — 
To GOD allied! Kaiser nor emperor. 
King or Czar, can slay that deathless spirit 
Which, while man lives, can never die! 

As comes the sun's unfailing majesty 
Driving away the terror of the Night's dark shade 
Or, as the Spring makes Winter's icy hand unloose, 
So Manhood and Intelligence conjoined 
Dethrone the despots. Ignorance and III. 

When men awaken to their rights divine. 
Oppression's bonds are broken. Heroes rise 
And tyrants arc no more. , * * * * 

The stars of Love and Understanding 
Of Brotherhood and Faith illumine all. 




72 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

ST. LOUIS— 1809-1909. 
(CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION ODE.) 



On terraced mounds, a regal Queen she reigns, 
Centered 'mid tributaries rich, in homage bent, — 
North, South, Bast, West, — The Western plains 
With grains and fruital treasures opulent, — 

The North, with forests, fields and furry yields: — 
The East with finished products of the loom and mill: 
The South with clinging snow of cotton fields: — 
Their kingly treasuries her coffers fill. 



To her, this daughter of the modern day. 

The mighty Mississippi at her feet 

Bows his obeisance, flowing on his way 

To where he doth his lordly master, Ocean, meet. 

Oh, city, dear and beautiful, to greatness grown, — 
Reign bravely long. Queen of our enterprise! 
May more and more as dollar-wealth ye gain 
The grace of culture, beauty, art and education rise 
To mark your progress, until ye attain 
A stature as no city yet hath known. 



A PEACE WAR SONG. 



FALL IN ! and join the marching throng 

For peace and wider brotherhood! 
Fight on that war no more shall wrong 

The land with pestilence and blood! 

FORWARD! with hope and spirit bold 

Unmask the folly of false fear! 
Throne trust in place of hatreds old 

That war from earth may disappear! 

ADVANCE! CLOSE RANKS! Stand firm! Stand fast! 

Progress is on the side of Peace, 
Perchance each war may be the last — 

War must, war can and will yet cease! 

Then FIRE! the volleys of your heart 

The logic of your facts and mind! 
Peace is of life the better part 

A dream? What finer can we find? 




umiiitiiiaiiiiHiHiiiDiiiiiiiiiiiiDiiiniiriiiiDiiiitiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiDiinmiiiiiciiMiiiiiriiiniiiiiiniiiiaiiiiiiii 

MISCELLANEOUS 

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THE CRUCIBLE OF BROTHERHOOD. 



(Lines suggested on witnessing "The Melting Pot," of Israel Zangwill.) 



Once more a Jew shows us a vision splendid, 

Of hate and rancor routed, with their horrid brood; 

Humanity, through love and understanding blended, 
Fused in God's crucible — a living brotherhood — 

Here in America! Not in Palestine ; 

Here where the precious rights of each are dear; 
Here where injustice is THE sin; 

Here where the persecuted may forget his fear. 

Here where despite all idols, gold or clay. 

Prophetic, pure ideals still allure: 
Keeping aflame the hope of that great Day 
When Right shall sit enthroned and long endure. 

Yet wider spreads our hope! Men of all lands 
Seeing the joy that Unity and Justice bring. 

May, with America, link hearts and hands. 

Joining the chorus that unto the spheres shall ring — - 

From land to land, exultant over Earth, 

Sounding o'er seas, high to the heavens above. 

Singing the truer Messianic birth 

Never again to die, of Peace and Love! 




74 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

ON WISDOM'S PATH. 



Bach day becomes a life-page new: 

The grain is winnowed from the chaff: 

When Wisdom's pathway we pursue 
With Faith to lend its steadying staff. 

Friend meeteth friend, as on they strive — 
Soul is with soul strong intertwined 

In the glad zest to learn and live 
With conscious act of thinking mind. 

Keen is the spirit's genial goad 

That spurs us on the way they wend — 

And pleasant is the rock-rough road 
To Wisdom — path that hath no end! 



A TOAST. 



May high upon the future's mighty scroll 

Where Progress, Peace and Plenty are to he enthroned. 

The Order B'nai B'rith stands firm, while from its ramparts roll 

The triple noble virtues oft intoned. 

"Benevolence!'^ Alleviating grief and pain. 
An attribute that doth transfigure man 
In all that tends to raise despondent hope again, 
May it be found alertly active in the van. 

"Brotherly Love!*' That feels with fellowship, 
May it be ever more than empty sound. 
Strong in the heart, as ready on the lip 
To cheer us as the years glide swiftly round. 

And "Harmony!" that heavenly chord divine. 
Without which neither worlds nor spheres could be; 
May Harmony its music sweet entzvine 
And play its strain for all humanity. 

This be the hope of all our Brotherhood; 

That these elect God-given virtues three 

May be our guides as through Life's trackless ivood, 

We seek our way on to divinity. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 75 



WHAT IS SIN? 



What is Sin? of Youth asked I 

(Youth — where Grief hath ne'er stepped in.) 
Not to laugh or love, — to cry — 

Sang Youth gaily, — that is Sin. 

What, I asked of Age, is Sin? 

(Age — to years and cares allied — ) 
Seeking earthly joys to win: — 

That is Sin, — old Age replied. 

What is Sin — of Toil, I ask? 

Not to labor, not to strive 
At a worthy honest task: — 

That is Sin. Work while you live. 

What is Sin? oh, tell me. Drone! 
(Slowly wagged his idle head) 
Toiling on for crust or hone, 
Or for more, — is Sin, he said. 

What is Sin? I asked my soul 

Tell me, Conscience, what is Sin... 
* * * * 

To my heart the answer stole: 
Not to strive with holy zest 
In the Truth- and Virtue-quest 
Making Faith a mocking jest 
Not to fight the lower lust — 
Not in Good and Life to trust — 
Not to hear well what we must — 
Not to fight the Wrong unjust — 
Not to feel zvifh mankind kin — 
Not to heed the hest within — 
THAT, said Conscience — that is Sin! 






76 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

SELF-SLAUGHTER. 



(These lines were suggested by the sad and untimely ending by 
himself of one whom we respected as a friend.) 



And if "the Everlasting had not set 

His canon 'gainst self-slaughter," should we yet abet 

A wilful snuffing out the spark of life? 

All are we hurd en-hearers, sin or sorrow-soiled 

With crosses, scars and tears — ambitions foiled, 

Balked and defeated in the weary strife. 

Of self with Satan, wishes with condition 
Of task with temperament, of handicapped position 
That every toilsome step our strength beset. 
Where, pray, is all our boast of thought and soul, 
If, fools, we let the demon from our goal 
Drive us death-desperate 
Deserting duty. NO — in despite we live, 
Regardless of the lashes fate may give. 

What though our little flickering spark 
Encompassed by the blackness of Egyptian dark 
Sinks low in grief f 

To light the dark is reason for the flame 
And faith and trust despise and make us shame 
The hasty wrong relief 
Of casting life aside as some discarded toy, 
A bird whose song no longer gives us joy. 

Nay! zve must bear Time's whips and scorns, the ill 

Of love despised, oppression's wrongs, fardels that fill 

With woe our cup — 

Defy the spurns, and welcome each rebuff 

That sages tell but smoothens out the rough 

And lift us up. 

In darkness and in pain, ay! we may grope 

And for a time (eclipsed our sun of hope), 

Life seems a shell 

But in our souls, undying and unquenched, flames on 

The firm fixed faith that soon or late, anon, — 

All must be well! 



* 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 77 

IN WOE AND GRIEF. 



(On Reports of Jewish Massacres in Russia in 1905.) 




We bozv our hearts, grief-filled with woe, 

O'er martyred dead — 
Perhaps the unborn years will show 

Why they have bled? 

* * * * t. :f: 

Alas! We do not understand. 

A blessing may hide in the stvord 

That mortals fear; 
Affliction, sorrow may hold word 

Of zvorth or cheer. 

Alas! We do not understand. 

In wanton slaughter {never earned) 

There may be blent 
Some hidden good, (nozv iindiscerned) 

Some zvise intent — 

****** 

Alas! We do not understand. 

We feel in death there is design 

That makes for Right; 
Our soids in hope zve must resign 
Till shines the light! 

Meanwhile — 
Alas! We do not understand. 




78 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



AS YEARS GO ON. 



Do we advance as yours go on? 

Is up or down the pathway's course? 
Routed, defeated? Battles zvon? 

Evil or good the conquering force? 
As years go on? 

Forward or hack? Which is our way? 

Is zvrong or right the pilot friend? 
Whither do thoughts and footsteps stray? 

To justice do our actions trend 
As years go on? 

Do we yet feel the seal of youth? 
Does fire of faith still in us burn 
Or is all ashes? Does for truth 
The soul still yearn 
As years go on? 

Have lost illusions left us old — 

Or has success brought foolish pride? 
Has struggling made us kind or cold? 
Have zvorth and effort in us died 
As years go on? 

* * * * 

Has sorrozv's zveight ambition crushed? 

Do others' woes no longer stir? 
Are hope's sweet heartstrings mute and hushedi 

Is life all bitterness or myrrh? 
As years go on! 

Trusting we meet the coming years : 
Hoping, believing, laboring strive; 
Counting the time by deeds, not fears. 
And life by love. Onward zve drive 
As years go on! 




SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 79 

LIEUT. JEROME L. GOLDMAN. 



To Lieutenant Jerome Goldman belongs the distinction of being 
the first St. Louis Jewish boy to fall in patriotic sacrifice upon the 
battlefield of France. 

It is a sad distinction but one that for all the generations in his 
family will give the name a lustre that no success however brilliant 
in business or in other channels could secure. 

His fate is one which others since have met. All could not return. 
Whether they come back to us as they left us, or whether only the 
report of their high devotion and the memory of their noble souls 
may be our portion, the true consolation is the knowledge that they 
played the part of MEN — as Lieutenant Goldman did. 

They served and lived or they served and died. The merit is 
that they served ! 

For that service they shall be ever cherished, living or dead. 

Tears, yes, but also tears of joy that these Jewish sons, brothers 
and husbands now live or died, not cravens or weaklings, but as 
courageous, manly, splendid American heroes, defenders of liberty 
and freedom and enlightenment, for us and for the future generations. 



ENDING SECRET SCHOOL SOCIETIES. 



Very interesting and gratifying is the fact that the St. Louis 
Board of Education has adopted a report of the Superintendent of 
Schools, Dr. John W. Withers, declaring secret societies in public 
high schools undemocratic, undesirable and injurious and barring 
them from the high schools of our city. 

"The Modern View" desires to express appreciation to both 
Dr. Withers and the Board of Education for their excellent and 
creditable action. 

It is an ugly and odious truth that many fraternities and soror- 
ities instead of being what the words "frater" and "soror" signify, are 
so scandalously undemocratic as to draw the discriminating line of 
creed against fellow-students of the Jewish faith. 

It is astonishing and disgraceful that the controlling powers 
of some universities condone or suffer intolerant snobbish secret 
societies to continue. The trustees, faculties or boards of manage- 
ment surely cannot sanction or approve a narrow-minded attitude 
in institutions classified as EDUCATIONAL or AMERICAN! 

The ending of secret social societies in schools and universities 
does not lessen fraternity. Instead, such eHmination will enlarge and 
broaden genuine fellowship. 

The abolition of the restrictions or else the elimination of the 
societies that cling to them — will be hailed with unfeigned delight 
by every lover of justice and common sense, inside and outside of 
public schools and universities. 

All universities should follow the example of the public high 
school of St. Louis and end the injurious secret organizations. 



80 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



A KISHINEFF BOY'S FATE. 



A Jewish boy was saved eleven years ago from the horrible 
Kishineff massacre in Russia. He was brought to America — to Amer- 
ica — to America, the haven of oppressed — the open-armed ! 

He fell the other day in France, a soldier fighting for freedom 
in the ranks of America's heroes. 

What a tragic life ! How marvelous are the ways of fate and 
Providence ! 

Saved from a bloody mob of fanatics and plunderers, to come to 
the land of freedom, there to grow to manhood, then to die in its 
behalf in war, for its integrity and honor ! 

He surely met a nobler death than if his young life had been 
ended on that bloody day in Kishinefif — a day that even the death of 
Nicholas, the Czar, and the dispersing of his despot rule, cannot 
obliterate ! 

This boy hero's life, wrested from the murderers of Kishineflf 
was given usefully, a sacrifice to terminate the twin evil of mobocracy 
and that of the autocracy of titled fanatics. 

His sacrifice and that of all his brother-heroes will not have been 
in vain when that supreme result shall be achieved. 



THE CROSS OF ISABELLA. 



Dr. Ludwig L. Zamenhof, inventor of a world-language, had the 
cross of the Order of Isabella conferred upon him by the King of Spain. 

Times makes indeed a travesty and burlesque of persecution and 
tormenting, for was it not this same Isabella of Spain who was party 
to and active in the expulsion of the Jews from Spain? 

This Dr. Zamenhof is one of that despised people which Spain 
drove from its confines in the past. 

A Jew is also in the Spanish "Cortez" (parliament). 

Justice and recognition come slowly, truly, but as Browning says : 

"God's justice, tardy though it prove perchance, 
Rests never on the track until it reach 
Delinquency." 

"God's justice" means not always awful retribution and dire 
vengeance on the perpetrators of evil. 

Sometimes "God's justice" takes the form of letting the scales 
fall from the eyes of the unseeing, of letting light stream in on the 
befogged and blinded vision, of sending knowledge and perception 
where ignorance and darkness reigned. 

Where "God's justice" is humanly stimulated by righting wrongs, 
by progress and enlightenment, the highest privilege, the noblest pre- 
rogative of men and women is being accepted and performed. 




ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 
(From the Painting by Frederick Oakes Sylvester) 




SPRING COMETH! 




iiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiMiiiiiDiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiii 



SKETCHES 



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THE UNINVITED GUESTS. 




A Fantasy. 



It is the climax and culminating evening of the great Bazaar. 

The newspaper reporter would have dwelt upon the "riot of 
color, the murmuring voices, the fanfaronnade of trumpets, the rhyth- 
mic combination of motion, life, of fragrance and of music, the em- 
bodied soul and genius of active men and women." 

Yes, life, color and joy are at their maximum and best. 

In every booth and aisle, bewitching bevies of beautiful belles 
beguile and hypnotize the visitor into surrendering to their persuasive 
pleadings, until the last red cent is gone. 

The committees on administration, on arrangement, on entertain- 
ment, and on execution exhale the gratification of the satisfaction that 
they feel in the surpassing splendor, the great result of their tireless, 
tedious labors. 

Gladness, fashion, merriment and gayety dwell throughout the 
place. Fancifully decorated pavilions look like little gondolas in the 
spacious sea of living being. Some problem the lofty eerie of a big 
balloon that centers in the hall look smaller than they feel. 

The orchestra of an hundred pieces strikes up the great march 
from "The Prophet." The first chords ring in majesty up to the 
vaulted roof, when, lo ! — a distant sound of some commotion and mur- 
muring at the door halts the attention of everyone. An awful fear 
and inexpHcable dread such as the ominous, unexpected and the un- 
looked for always brings, begins to steal to every heart. 

The orchestra abruptly stops, the leader with his baton still up- 
raised. All are affected by some untold, inexpressible feeling of fear 
or awe, — at what — they know not. 

The chairman of the floor committee immediately dispatches 
messengers to learn the cause of this strange interruption. Ere they 
can reach the doorway the cause appears. 

And what a cause ! And what an interruption of the beautiful 
and brilliant Charity Bazaar ! 

Stalking slowly sternly forward, waving aside the doorkeeper, 
the leader of a strange procession enters the illuminated and decorated 
arena. He is old and bent and feeble, his face furrowed with the 



82 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



wrinkles and ravages of sorrow, grief, and care, telling a lifetime 
struggle with the wolf of poverty. 

A strange and miserable procession does he lead into this happy 
gathering! 

One by one they enter at the doorway. The vast assemblage 
stands stunned in petrified rigidity by the awful sight. 

Such a procession was never seen — and may it never come again ! 

Those who saw it felt their flesh creep in horror as the awful 
train of miserable and unfortunate ones passed them by, almost touch- 
ing them with their rags, their hollow sunken eyes, their gasping 
breath and stunted limbs. 

The musicians still stood transfixed, so that no sound accom- 
panied the march of this phantom-like parade of uninvited guests. 

The silence was all the more terrible, and the throbbing of pal- 
pitating hearts of the fashionably arrayed, unwilling audience, thus 
thrown into immediate and violent contact with the very ones for 
whom they had been so gladly, but unthinkingly gathered a moment 
before, was almost audible. 

It was enough to make the heart of any one pulsate to see the 
almost endless line of these "Les Miserables." 

There must have been a thousand of these human creatures in the 
march. 

Uninvited, yes, — but were they not the guests of honor for whose 
sole sake the great festive occasion was arranged? Surely it was 
not for social, selfish or self-seeking notoriety that the elaborate 
social event, the charity bazaar had been planned ! 

There was the aged and infirm leader whose only claim for 
existence was that he still occasionally breathed ; there was the help- 
less widow with her train of orphaned, unprotected infant children ; 
there was the cripple with his crutch ; the halt ; the lame and blind ; 
there was the consumptive in the last stages, with hacking cough and 
contagious sputum ; there was the imbecile with vacant stare and 
gibbering grimaces ; the drink-besetted sot ; the bedridden paralytic 
carried by leprous emaciated wraiths ; sad-eyed sufiferers and wild- 
eyed distracted, despairing fathers willing, but out of work; famished, 
hungry, hapless all. 

There were the afflicted with every stage of disease known to 
humanity and on every tenth one was the pallor of death and of 
approaching dissolution. 

Not a sound did the ghostly, ghastly, marching cortege of miser- 
able ones give forth except the moans of anguish that their physical 
and mental agonies extorted from them. All the more terrible 
sounded the occasional shriek of an agonized widow, the wail of a 
helpless babe or the cry of those suffering from their pain. 

On they marched with such motion as their infirmities permitted, 
down the broad aisles, which but a moment before beauty and 
strength, smiles and compliments, frivolity and jest had pre-empted. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 83 



One starving wretch snatched a sandwich as the column passed 
the "cafeteria" as if to prove that the uninvited visitors were really 
flesh and blood. 

Laboriously, but steadily, this strange array went on its weari- 
some course around the coliseum. The austere chairman of all the 
committees stood dumbfounded among the lookers-on. 

Once, twice and for the third time did the procession circle past 
each pretty booth, past staring, wondering and startled youth and 
maid, past awe-struck men and women. 

With no explanation of their presence, after the third circuit 
they departed by the door as grimly and as suddenly as .they had 
come; back into the bleak and bitter cold of night they went, back 
to the shameful, squalid, sordid slums that modern civilization sanc- 
tions. 

* * * 

For the duration of a minute there was silence among these 
assembled. 

The clock struck twelve. 

The leader of the ochestra, regaining partially his composure, 
attempted to restore hilarity by playing of latest "rag." It was in 
vain. 

The jests had lost their point, the laugh and coquetry their 
charm. The refreshments had no savor. The fragrance of the flowers 
was fled ; the flavor of the evening's pleasure had departed, for it 
had come home to each and every one, that it was one thing to labor 
amid the joy and in the companionship of well-fed, happy-hearted 
beautiful men and women for the distant distressed, diseased, and 
desperate beneficiaries, but it was quite something else and vastly 
different to be suddenly placed close and immediately in juxtaposition 
with misery that is due to the injustice and indifference and defects 
of the boasted modern social fabric. 

Ay ! It was almost as terrible to witness that awful phantom 
caravan, that, uninvited, had glided gaunt and spectrally around the 
coliseum on its aimless course, as to have been one of that same 
grievous train, and many a thoughtless one went home to warm and 
comfortable couch with a profounder and deeper assurance of the 
needs of the distressed and that the actual task of relieving and as- 
suaging the afflictions and woes of mankind meant more than merely 
giving money. 

Indelibly one fact that terrible train of uninvited guests im- 
pressed upon them one and all. 

It was that even one hundred thousand dollars could not undo 
it all. 

No — nor a million, either. 



84 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE REDEEMED. 



A Sketch. 



He had violated nearly all the Decalogue. 

Although but forty, of excellent Jewish ancestry and breeding, 
in the prime of manhood years, what commandment of the Jewish 
ten had he not actively or passively defied ! 

A Deity, a Power that made for Righteousness, a Supreme Source 
of Being, — in any form or any phase, — he had in his finite vanity of 
intellect, with atheistic dogmatism, long denied. 

Education he had gained by virtue of kind and indulgent parents, 
who, by scrupulous frugality and ceaseless, selfless, industry had sent 
him to the university. 

Like some who drink of the Pierian spring, he drank, but not 
deeply, at its founts of knowledge. 

At many a student's cranium in many an institution of learning, 
true wisdom knocks vainly for a lodging, just as in many pious seem- 
ing people the true spirit of religion cries unavailingly for entrance. 

He had accepted many other gods to worship. Chiefly he had 
prostrated himself at the altars of Mammon and Bacchus, of gold 
and intemperance. 

"Why not?" with youth's certainty had he reasoned. "Gold buys 
whatever life has yet to give, and drink makes you forget." 

His parents were dead, or the shame of his life thus far would 
have done what Nature kindly had done for them before they saw the 
miscarriage of all their hopes and plans in this, their only son. 

The Sabbath day was not hallowed by him. 

Economic necessity, the plea (a reasonable one) of modern days, 
was not his reason. Rather, his action was the deliberate wilful dis- 
cretion, that attempted thereby to prove HE was an individual, not 
"one of the swarm." 

He had lied. He had coveted more than one seemingly happier 
man — the possession of riches, of wife, of automobiles, or glory. 

Murder he had not committed, but to kill (himself, not another) 
was now in his mind, as he sat in the public park that May day morn- 
ing, reviewing in bitterness the useless waste and sacreligious misuse 
of his life's gifts and opportunities. 

His body was yet strong and athletic. His features, except to 
the careful observer, showed not the effects of dissipated hours. 

Suppose he did kill himself? He would not care. His compan- 
ions in carouses would not miss him. Wife and children he had none. 
The world might be the gainer by his exit from the world. 

At this point we pause to remark, that now, if this self-murder 
is to be prevented, it must be by some sudden intervention or inter- 
cession. 

Of what ? 

An up-to-date modern writer might here, while the subject was 
meditating suicide, have a runaway motor car come along. An inno- 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 85 



cent child is in its path! Quick as thought (quicker if necessary!), 
the prospective suicide grasps the situation and also the child out of 
harm's way. Grateful parents and their lovely daughter thank him 
and overwhelm him with gratitude. His new friends insist on his 
company and finally redeem him to usefulness and joy. Ultimately 
then he ought to wed the daughter! 

Another solution might be this : 

As he sat there, gloomily despondent and despairing he might, in 
the hands of some other more experienced writer, have suddenly 
heard the synagogue organ (if the congregation was not orthodox) 
on the Sabbath day. This might have revived memories of his boy- 
hood, his confirmation and his pledges. It might have awakened him 
from his conscience-coma to a determination to reform. 

Alas ! Neither the child rescued from the runaway motor, nor 
the music of congregational chant or organ comes to aid me in my 
little sketch, and I conclude with my own tame and undramatic con- 
clusion. 

As he still sat on the park bench each moment but more firmly 
convincing him that his broken life could be mended no more, and 
that a bullet or the river would end remorse and all, the park keeper 
and his gardener approached. 

They saw him, but passed by to a plot immediately opposite to 
where he sat. 

Idly interested he watched them, still thinking of himself. 

A storm of the night before had twisted and broken the flowers 
and small trees. One handsome small tree in particular had been bent 
and injured, apparently ruining it forever. 

The gardener did not think so after examining it. 

Carefully he lifted the broken part, and with the skill of his art 
so adjusted it, by clever support on one side and the other, that it 
was able to resume its former upright position and appearance. 

"It will be all right again, Jim, after a while," he said to the 
keeper, "The storm nearly killed it, but luckily, the sap and the 
roots are all right," and on they went. 

"The sap and the roots are all right!" The words echoed in his 
head after the gardener and keeper had left. 

"The sap and the roots are all right!" 

Did not that apply to him? 

The self-invited storms of life had injured him, yes, but he was 
yet strong and mentally efficient. Were not the sap and the roots 
all right? 

As if an electric shock had galvanized him into life, he started up. 
The better thoughts and the finer part of his original nature, long 
obscured by thoughtlessness and self-indulgence, rose once more in 
him. An unseen Gardener was at work in him. 

He made no vow. He uttered no self-reproaching words. He 
gave no outer sign of change, except a sterner look of fixed intention 
that presaged much of good. 



86 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



There was none else to note it save the chirping birds, and they 
were too busy looking for their daily sustenance. 

He had not noticed previously the singing of the birds, but the 
trilling now sounded to him strangely tuneful. 

He was sure the grass had not been so cool and ^-efreshingly 
green before his moral transformation. 

He had not glanced to see the blueness of the summer sky nor 
to the golden streaming sunlight. They both now came to his view 
being as a blessed benediction of approval to his new resolve to be 
a worthy man, in all its stern demands. 

To this day no one save he and the writer know that the mending 
of a broken, injured tree by an humble gardener, in a public park, 
mended and saved a human life for many years of usefulness and 
service to the cause of a better and a nobler humanity. 

By the fine and numerotis blossoms of his many remaining years 
of life, he proved indeed that "the roots and the sap" of his Jewish 
ancestry, his Jewish teaching and his Jewish faith, were virile. 

Temptations came to him repeatedly to fall again, but he stood 
strong and did not yield. 

Later, he found a kindred mate, virtuous and kind. Then chil- 
dren came. 

The days became to him a joy. The stars in the firmament took 
on a new and splendid beauty. Life had a fuller meaning. 

He had indeed risen on his dead self to higher things. 



THE CRUCIFIX ON THE WALL. 



A Sketch. 



(Note. — In some sectarian hospitals where Jewish consumptive 
patients (for lack of other facilities), are treated, a crucifix in the room 
while a Jewish patient is there is a common sight. Assuming that a 
patient is to an extent influenced by surroundings, the following supposi- 
titious sketch might not be altogether a figment of the imagination.) 



Up the inclined segment of the graveled roadway leading to the 
entrance of the hospital went the ambulance. 

"Whoa !" The conveyance halted at the portals of the humanitarian 
institution into whose beneficent and sympathetic arms so many weary 
and afflicted ones had entered, for longer or for shorter sojourning, some 
to depart quickened and restored to health and happiness (aye ! health 
IS happiness!) others despite the genius of the institution's modern scien- 
tific skill, to leave it alas ! only, silent and inanimate, no longer racked 
with pain or care, but deaf also to human joy or pleasure. 

The vehicle stopped. On separate litters were lifted from its bosom 
two cases of that arch-enemy of the human race to-day — consumption. 

The one was a fair young Christian girl, her face with the pallor 
telling the disease. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 87 



The other was that of a Russian, a Jew, a man in the prime of Ufe, 
though the white plague had already faintly left its deathly mark. 

A room was assigned to each. The general accommodations were 
nearly alike. 

In one particular the rooms were identically equipped. In each there 
was a crucifix, with the image of the bleeding body of the Christian 
Redeemer nailed to the cross. 

Most hospitals refuse consumptive cases, and there was no provi- 
sion for them in the Jewish hospital of the city in which the incident 
we are about to relate might have occurred. The Jewish unfortunate 
was perforce taken and welcomed into the sectarian institution, where 
he is accorded the best medical treatment that the hospital affords. 

* * * 

It was night. 

Both cases were incipient cases. The critical period was imminent 
in both. 

The young Christian woman lay on her couch of pain. The cough- 
ing had moderated. She glanced at the wall, where her eyes saw the 
suft"ering symbol of her Savior hanging on his bloody cross. 

Her early memories were awakened. She saw in his agony the 
extreme of her more modest cross, and she felt a courage and mental 
stimulus due to her early religious teaching that had taught her salvation 
was through the mediation of this Savior Christ. She did not know 
he was a Jew, a Jew whom the Romans had crucified as a political teacher 
of revolution from their yoke. She looked upon him only as the Son of 
God by whose superhuman power her body and soul were to be saved. 
The thought comforted her. She prayed, and the beneficent effect, 
peace and the renewed courage it gave to her was good. She fell into 
a gentle, soothing slumber from which she woke refreshed with a new 
zest for life, the crisis past, and recovery assured. 

♦ * * 

How was it with the other — the Russian Jew, who, in the struggle 
of modern "civilization," had lost his manly strength through toiling in 
the sweatshops to serve the wolf of Want at the cost of health? 

In his room he lay. The physician had left him. 

It was night. 

It was also the crisis in the case of the Jewish patient. He was 
feverish and restless, for the problem of his own existence weighed on 
his mind and worried him. The future was so dark ! 

His restless eyes roved over the room, and at last rested on the 
crucifix on the wall ! 

The crucifix! A shudder passed through his emaciated frame. 
Thoughts and memories it prompted in him of age-long misery and perse- 
cution of his race, of massacres and "pogroms," of ruined hopes and 
homes, of murdered kith and kin, for he, too, was one of that band of 
m.odem martyrs whose happiness went glimmering in the smoke and 
shambles of gory Kishineff by assassins under the icon of the crucifix. 

The crucifix ! It woke in him and seared his weakening soul with 
its mournful meaning and message, of woe to his people. It had driven 
them from land to land unpityingly. 



88 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



The image took on a sinister aspect, as the depressing thought went 
deeper into his consciousness of the tragic fate of his fellow believers of 
Israel in all times, that the crucifix symbolized to him. 

No message of hope it spelled for him, but only persecution, hate 
and doom. Was not the untrue legend taught in every so-called enlight- 
ened Christian Sunday-school that the Jews killed Christ, and that never ! 
no, never! were they to be forgiven? 

As the depressing delirium of his wakeful mind grew on him 
his courage sank, his hope diminished, the resistant power of his body 
vanished. His desire for life declined. 

Why live in a world where the dominant majority taught love and 
acted it not, — a world where Christian "culture" was bound up with 
teachings to the young that could only inspire misunderstanding, con- 
straint and hate? Their Christ is daily crucified on the cross of intoler- 
ance, social oppression, and un-Christian teaching by his own professed 
followers. 

"If fellowship was to be denied in the world, why should he care 
to live in it?" his feverish, confused imagination queried. 

Inch by inch the despondent spirit swelled to claim the patient's 
being and check all possible improvement in his case. 

He tossed on his couch. Suddenly again he gazed at the crucifix 
on the wall. 

The crucifix ! Ay, the bloody hands and feet ! They refreshed his 
mind and reawakened, to torment his fevered mind, the dreadful days of 
that black event in Russia, in which not one, but many, Jewish men 
christs, and women christs and child christs were nailed on the cross of 
brutality and savagery in the name of the Christ of the crucifix on the 
wall! 

Wildly he threw himself about seeking to ring the bell to call the 
nurse or physician, but his disordered mind missed the location of the 
electric button. 

He imagined that he had called and that no help was nigh. 

He began to rave. He tried to shout, but his tongue in terror clave 
to the roof of his mouth. 

At last his tortured being fell in sheer abandon of impotent helpless- 
ness into quiet, a pulseless, lifeless quiet. The exciting strain had done 
its work. 

The crisis was indeed over. His doom was fixed — and it was night 

for him, — dark oblivion and the ceaseless night of Death. 

* * * 

The crucifix still hangs on the wall. 




SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 89 



IN NEW YORK. 



Human creatures are numerous in New York. 

There are over five million of them, pushing, crowding, north, south, 
east, west, industrious ants, busy bees and idle vermin, too. All kinds of 
beings, good and bad from every land. 

You walk along the boasted "Great White Way," Broadway, and note 
the rouged girls, short skirts, light and "life," shows and shows and 
saliva-sprinkled sidewalks ; Fifth Avenue with all its foolish finery ; 
view the Bowery and the wretchedness of Mott and Mulberry slums ; 
Wall Street, with its spidery schemes ; then you readily comprehend 
the application of the words : "God made the country, man the town." 
Man's job is unperfected. 

Yes, the Jewish face IS frequent in New York. One-fifth of the 
people is Jewish. They are not all pawn brokers, "ol-clo" men, nor all 
in theatrical enterprises or finance. They lead and labor everywhefe. 
They are among the capitalists, the toilers and the mediators. They are 
in the arts and sciences. In relief work and philanthropy they are gen- 
erously bountiful. They are in high and low pursuits. Synagogues ga- 
lore, Jewish hospitals, educational and training schools, immigrant aid 
societies, are numerous and yet the need always exceeds the fullest 
measure of supply. 

In New York, as in every other city, — but multiplied by the largest 
integer, — are to be found the elements of misery and money, profligacy 
and poverty in close conjunction, cheek by jowl. The contrast is in con- 
stant evidence. Now you pass a one-cent coffee stand or see a shiver- 
ing "bread line" of woe-begone derelicts, waiting for their hand-outs 
at a Bowery mission, while Grand opera at $6.00, or silly plays at $3.00 
a seat, are crowded. At aristocratic hotels rich, decorated ladies plead 
in vain with haughty waiters for seats at tables in the "orangery" or 
cafe where the viands are the costliest. "All taken !" 

An acquaintance asks you "Have you seen the Ghetto and the 
slums? "What do you think of them?" 

When you reply : "The sight is sad and I am overcome with the 
tragedy of it — that hundreds of thousands must live such a congested, foul 
and vicious burlesque travesty of life," he answers cheerily: "I should 
worry ! YOU don't have to live there do you ?" 

This attitude fits well with Elbert Hubbard's definition of optimism: 
"It's all right, so long as it doesn't happen to me." 

But just when you are in this mood of depression at the in- 
ability of humanity to get the most out of life; when you are ponder- 
ing why fine clothes and fancy food and piles of money should be the apex 
of the ambition of most of those you meet; just as you are beginning 
to despair of man's ability to develop and progress, you suddenly re- 
member the "Hudson tubes," the marvelous tunnel under the Hudson 
river through which you came into the city, second only to the Panama 
Canal in its engineering genius ; the palatial railroad station ; the won- 
derful subway; the Woolworth marvel piercing the heaven, the cloudy 



90 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



day obscuring upper stories as though they actually were above the 
skies; the Art Museum wonders of today and yesterday; the Library 
(With seven floors of books innumerable, the Bartholdi Statute, the 
Brooklyn Bridge and all the wondrous works of human hands and minds ; 
then you more keenly realize that what applies to all life, — heartaches and 
joy, sunshine and shadow, belong to each other. You comprehend then 
that New York is only the largest American example of the things 
that make up human life — namely, the struggle for bread as well as to 
achieve place and prominence; the effort to ease sorrow and the in- 
difference as to causing it; the public spirit that would beautify and 
raise communal powers and the politicians' plots that would destroy 
and selfishly defeat the good of all. 

Art, science, beauty, religion — side by side with filth, selfishness, 
idle pleasure, vice, indifference — that is New York — that is St. Louis — 
that is Today ! It is Life ? 



BARON ROTHSCHILD'S DEATH. 



A prominent figure in the world of philanthropy, finance and 
Jewish aft'airs, has been removed in the death of Baron Nathan Roths- 
child of London. 

His fortune is reputed to be in the neighborhood of two hundred 
million dollars, but this amount looks pitifully small in the face of 
Death which is not awed by pomp or wealth. "Death loves a shining 
mark." 

Wealth in the hands of men like Baron Rothschild has its value 
for he gave much of it to relief, religion, education, science and en- 
couragement of art and progress. The justification for the possession 
of such excessive sums is each day questioned more and more. Until 
your social conditions are so regulated as to make the accumulation of 
such enormous sums an impossibility, it is at least a blessing that 
the money gets into the hands of men like Baron Rothschild who have 
not only pocketbooks and banks but also hearts to feel the need of 
others less fortunate than they. 

The objection, of course, to all philanthropy is the sense of pat- 
ronage that it permits, whereby some are supposed to be givers and 
others takers. The sense of justice tells us that ALL of us are crea- 
tures of circumstances. If blessed with substance we have therefore 
little cause for pride. It should be only an added obligation to prop- 
erly and fittingly bestow from it. The consciousness must come to 
any one who thinks, that money belongs to all because it was not by 
our sole efforts but by advantageous circumstances plus the personal 
efforts, that enabled the few to make the acquisition. 

Baron Rothschild is no exception to this rule. We decline to be 
impressed by his wealth but our regret is sincere because he gave 
much of his wealth, wisely and willingly, to humanity and would have 
done more if he had lived longer. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 91 



IN THE DAYS OF PHARAOH. 



It was in the day of that Pharaoh under whom the Israelites 
suffered in Egypt. 

Each day had then to be lived, even as in all periods of human 
stress, all mortals must. Strangely, too, under cruel tasks and bitter- 
ness, there were joys and pleasures. 

The complexity of human nature is such that, deprived of vital 
gifts, it finds solace in less lofty things to fill out life. 

Human nature adapts itself — even to slavery. 

Not so Gideon. Slave was he bodily to the Egyptian, but his 
soul was free. 

While he sweated under the im.posed bitter tasks of the Egyp- 
tian tyrant, his mind and soul were soaring in realms of spiritual 
freedom and planning, praying, watching for that liberty that had 
to come. His faith was sure. 

He was well moulded physically. His features bore the aspect 
of a thinking man. His appearance even at his menial task was that 
of one qualified for leadership, action and power. His was the mas- 
culine attractiveness to which the hearts of women yield. 

The Egyptian maiden. His, passing by one day, fell victim to 
his manly looks. She glanced at him and passed. She turned again 
afterwards to see him. Their eyes met. Her beauty and the expres- 
sion of pity — perhaps love — in her dark orbs woke in him emotion 
that was either gratitude — or also love, that strange inexplicable 
passion, which long before and ever since the days of Pharaoh has 
been written and sung in every land. 

Yet what could there be in common between these two — the 
Eg}^ptian aristocrat, and the Israelite slave — she with her gods Osiris, 
Isis, Ra, Thoth and the rest of the Egyptian idols, he with the death- 
less faith in the Eternal One of Israel, — she with the petty pride and 
vanity of birth that thinks itself royal — he with a pride as high, 
though of devotion to an ideal not earthly as a kingly court, yet 
nobler. 

But love is a magician, a conjurer. 

The labors of the Israelite were mysteriously lightened after the 
day she passed — though it was not made clear to him why. He was 
advanced to higher place. His natural mental ability kept pace 
with his new duties. 

She passed him often and each time their eyes met. The pleas- 
ure gave an exquisite joy to both of them. 

At last a messenger came and summoned Gideon to court. He 
was appointed to an office where he became a subordinate in the 
royal household. Then he learned that the wondrous-eyed Egyptian 
damsel. His, was a lady-in-waiting to Pharaoh's queen. 

Now, he understood his advancement over his fellow Israelites, 
his acceptance into the royal household. He realized to what influ- 



92 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



ence it was due. He was grateful. His gratitude grew into love — 
.but it did not dull his faculties or blind his mind to the fact that 
he and his people were misruled and oppressed. 

After a long time he was given a still higher place conditioned 
on his renunciation of his people and his faith. He refused the offer. 
He knew it meant surrender of his place and going back to his 
original menial, back-breaking servitude. 

The influence of His and her love for Gideon were powerless to 
prevent the priesthood's punishment for his refusal to accept the gods 
of Egypt. 

The fair Egyptian, His, sorrowed for she loved him. He grieved 
too, for she had grown very dear to him, by the invisible tie that 
bound them more closely than association of more ordinary lovers. 

Back at his perspiring toil, Gideon kept his mind on the absorb- 
ing theme of the liberation of his people, but thoughts of His intruded 
often. 

When the summons of the great leader, Moses, came for the 
deliverance, Gideon was ready and anxious to be of the leaders of 
his oppressed brothers, in the flight from Egypt. 

But his heart was sore, at the thought of deserting the fair one 
who has grown so dear to him. At the risk of his life and of dis- 
closure of the intended exodus, he turned toward the palace, in a des- 
perate, forlorn hope of seeing her, perhaps — who knows, — getting 
her to go with him! 

By some telepathy or miracle she was upon the road which he 
had chosen. They met. Gideon spoke. 

In agitated tones he told her of the contemplated flight into the 
desert. He begged her to come with him, to share his love there 
with its perils and privations he urged and pleaded. 

She shrank back in fear. Then she felt impelled to go. Hel 
mind wavered between love for the man, this Israelite, and fear of the 

In vain he pleaded with her to come with him. The magician. 
Love, had reached his maximum of power. Gideon looked at her, 
convulsively clasped her, kissed her, and dashed away to his place 
reckless undertaking. She dreaded leaving the joy of court, its splen- 
dor and its ease. At last she replied : "Stay thou here ! Let thy fel- 
lows go into the desert. Stay tjiou with me ! I will make thee happy 
at the court, with honors and with luxury !" 
at the head of his brothers. 

His looked passionately after him and started to follow but 
stopped and shrieked. Then with a moan she swooned. Her com- 
panions who had been seeking her found her thus. 

* * * 

Gideon and His never saw each other more, but neither ever 
forgot the other, he in the desert — and she at the court. 

Memory, a far greater conjurer than love, softened their mutual 
sadness in the remembrance of the tender past. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 93 



FATH ER AND SON. 
An Imaginary Chat. 

Father: Well, son, you have graduated from the high-school. 
What now? What next? 

Son: I haven't thought about my future. Have you, father? 

Father : No, my son. Fathers are "too busy" to give such sub- 
ject serious thought. Are you ready to go to work or would you 
rather go to college? 

Son: What kind of a job can I get, father? 

Father: O, anything you can. Errand boy, cash boy, stock 
clerk, bundle wrapper, any old thing that anybody can do. Look up 
the "want ads." Run from place to place till you find something. 

Son: What will I get? 

Father : O, about four dollars a week. You can work your way up. 

Son : Up to what ? 

Father: O, I don't know. Luck, chance, influence, something 
might turn up to help you rise. 

Son : Father, that doesn't strike me as a good way of figuring 
it out. Most of them never rise, or ever learn anything. Those days 
are past. 

Father: How then, son? What's your idea? 

Son : I was talking with a few of my fellow schoolmates the 
other day. One of them happened to have a copy of "The Modern 
View" in his hand telling of how a generous, anonymous Jewish 
philanthropist of Saint Louis had offered free scholarships in "The 
Ranken School of Mechanical Trades" to deserving Jewish boys who 
cared to learn a trade. 

If I intend to be a doctor, lawyer, or a minister, I'll have to go 
to High School and after that to the University or Seminary. This 
will cost you much money and take my best years of life. After 
I am all done, I must spend several years in building up a clientele 
or church. I haven't any special genius or special gift — though some 
say genius "is only 1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration." 
I don't feel cut out for a doctor, lawyer or minister and I think we 
have too many now. 

Father . You're right, son. Many of them nearly starve. Some 
only avoid ic by doing questionable service, unethical and dishonest. 
There are quack doctors, "fee"-rocious lawyers, and hypocrite preach- 
ers. You don't want to be a "tin-box" financier or a purchasable 
editor. You want to be proud of your work and honest in it. 

Son: That I do. 

Father : That idea of trade training strikes me favorably. Con- 
sider, however. Won't people look down on you if you know or 
follow a trade? 

Son: Not sane or thinking people. People with brains know 
how much the people with skilled hands are needed. Why, if all 
the doctors, lawyers — the financiers and ministers, too (which Heaven 
forbid!) were dead, the world would still go on, for, before we had 



94 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



them we had the skilled worker and the artisan. The world depends 
on them and always will everywhere and everyday. 

I met an old man — a patternmaker — the other day. He showed 
me a clock he had made. It had a woodwork case, exquisitely carved. 
The works were so arranged that it would run a year with one wind- 
ing. He was happy in having created it. This man had made the 
entire clock, works and all, with his own hands ! How I envied him. 
I took off my hat to him as I do all the men who construct our homes, 
arrange our drainage system, build bridges or create the thousand 
and one things of beauty and of use by which life is made livable 
and give the worker joy in the creation of the work. Oh, how small 
Rockefeller seemed to me when I looked at that clock which Rocke- 
feller's money could have bought, but which Rockefeller never could 
have made ! 

Father: O, yes, that's the right way to look at it, but how about 
the money side? Does a trade pay? What can you make at a trade? 

Son : It loks to me that there wouldn't be near as much need 
of collecting old cast-off clothes if most men knew a trade. Most 
trades pay any decent workman more than "jobs" that any one with- 
out training can do. I may not get rich at a trade, but I'll always 
be able to take care of myself, or of you and ma when you get old, 
here or in any other place if necessary. 

Father: You might want to marry. Will girls care for a man 
who works at a trade? I want my son to be educated. Can you be 
educated if you learn a trade? 

Son : The girl that wouldn't take me if I was a good workman, 
is the girl I wouldn't have. She'll make some one else miserable. 
As for education, in school I learned that education was defined by 
Horace as "that training which improves the powers implanted in 
us by Nature." Every healthy boy naturally takes to trade training. 
It trains hands and head. 

As for labor, — "from labor, health, from health contentment 
springs." I can read, write well and know arithmetic. I will con- 
tinue to read good books and meet people whose company can benefit 
my mind. Teacher told me that culture, education and skilled labor 

can all go hand in hand. Our principal, Mr. , said : "It's the 

man alone that counts. The man who can do things well with his 
hands will keep his thoughts on progress. He will advance his own 
ideals and those of the world. A self-mastered man, — why the world 
will fall at his feet !" 

Father: Did you learn these good ideas in school? If you did 
I'm proud of you and of the school. 

Son : Maybe I did, father, but whether I did or not, those are 
my views and, right now, in my youth is my only opportunity to fit 
myself to be a productive, useful, self-sustaining citizen, independent 
and dependable. If you are willing I'm going to learn a trade. 

Father : Good boy, go on and God bless your good resolve. I 
wish I had had your sense when I was your age, or better yet, your 
opportunity. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 95 



AT ANY SUMMER RESORT. 



Undoubtedly the American summer resort offers a change — if 
not a rest. 

Much might be said in favor or in derogation of the life that 
many summer resorters lead. 

What a summer resort would be to the average young man, with- 
out his pack of cigarettes, the palm beach suits and pretty girls, 
sometimes artificially beautiful, it would be difficult to say. 

What the average "young thing" (or girl) at a resort would 
think of them if wild, "modern," ugly dances, automobiles, candies, 
curls, conquests and costumes were eliminated, it would be heartless 
to consider. 

What a dreary desert the average resort would be to all — to 
many older Jewish men and women, without "cards and chips" the 
imagination hesitates to picture. The beautiful "pastime" of poker 
playing is seen at its apotheosis. The "game" brings out all the 
elevated, pretty attributes of money lust, of peevishness, of reckless- 
ness, of selfishness and littleness. 

The "wildness" of the girls, the gambling of the men and women, 
the gowning (or lack of gowns) of the fair ones, the good looks ( ?) 
of the self-conceited chaps ; all these furnish the rest of the resorters 
perennial food for gossip, wherewith on the hotel porch or elsewhere, 
they regale themselves and while the hours away until the "time- 
to-eat" arrives to break the idle chatter. 

Meal-time, mail-time and train-time are epochal events of each 
resorter's day. Each is eargerly awaited and as promptly relegated 
for the next. 

At the resorts are seen the "summer millionaire" with his im- 
aginary wealth, and the pea-fowl with her strut and dresses, the 
celebrity, the watchful mother with the marriagable daughter, the 
"champion" fisher man, the boisterous laughter, the purse-proud, 
haughty one whose husband made his "pile" in speculating or some 
occupation of which she is quite ashamed — all these and more are 
there. 

Then opposites — the kindly, cultured and considerate — are also 
to be found — by looking and with patience. 

But all is not unlovely. Nature in every mood charms and be- 
guiles. The verdure pleases. The water fascinates. The woods and 
walks invite. The flowers and fruits delight. The sun cheers, and 
the rain refreshes. The clear air, free from city grime and soot, 
invigorates. 

Of that "which falleth (like mercy) from heaven" there has been 
more than a sufficiency this year at the resorts, as in the cities. A 
rainy day at a resort dampens not alone the ground, but the ardoi 
of many of the guests and chills them to complaining. 

On a pleasant day. Nature, externally at least, presents a peace- 
ful contrast to the miseries that man can make by his destructive 
wars. 

Perhaps this comparison is less true than it appears, for nature 
is, if not destroying, quietly but continuously changing, in her seem- 



96 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



ing gentle peace as well as in her angry moods of violence. So, too, 
perhaps are peace and war — two forms of human action spelling 
change — change — let us hope, for higher and for happier states of 
being. 

That religion and the summer resort are not closely connected 
— requires no prophetic vision. 

The Jewish summer services try conscientiously to fill the need 
and some who do not go to synagogue when in their homes attend 
the service at resorts — let us believe — from the proper motive and 
not for love of mere variety ! 

Convention is thrown to the winds at the resorts. Whether this 
complete freedom from restraint, apparently without a limit, augurs 
well or ill — let some one better qualified inform us. 

To those who enjoy their brief respite from the year's labors, the 
unwonted but welcome leisure is a pleasing alteration, a wholesome 
term for new images and thoughts. 

If in this idle hour one has the luck to meet a thinking mind, 
congenial and willing to exchange experiences, opinions and ideas, 
the days will show a mental joy and gain as well as physical ad- 
vantage. 

There are actually people at any summer resort who can and 
will talk sense — despite all the temptations to the contrary ! 

That those who least require the joys of change, rest, recrea- 
tion and pure air, are those who chiefly get it, while the sad, plodding 
poor in congested city slums must swelter or toil on without the 
needed intermission, is one of the occasional useless thoughts, that 
will intrude on those inclined to let such troublesome things bother 
their minds. 

The summer resorters are not unfeeling. They are just out for 
a personal "good time." Benefits for war-suiiferers, other charitable 
causes or some individual beneficiary are occasionally given — but too 
much reflection of unfortunates seems to interfere with "a good 
time." 

The only unfortunates whom the summer resorters like to think 
of (with a secret satisfaction we fear) are their friends who are per- 
spiring in the city while the thermometer shows a difference of 20 
degrees. 

We may envy the fortunate ones who get the short, prized, wel- 
come summer vacation at some spot that Nature has particularly 
blessed — but woe, if one should be condemned to a perpetual stay at 
any summer resort, with nothing to do but "enjoy" oneself — Heaven 
would be asked to pity us ! 

If you have had the right vacation you will have done more than 
merely figure in the "Social News" reports. You will have laid in a 
new store of energy and images, with which to meet the resumed 
duties of your daily life. It gives you a forward-looking strength 
and pleasant retrospect. 

Blest be the law that gave us all some work to do — and more 
blest be the power that gives us heart to do our work — between 
vacations. 




THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



A light is out! A light that radiant shone 

Upon America and to its spirit gave 
A body and an incarnation hardly known 

Until he flamed — who now rests in his grave. 

A Man — no god- — but like a god he strove 
For truth and right — for national excellence 

For action, loyalty and brother-love 
For LIFE more full, true and intense! 

He rested not nor faltered in the fight 

DUTY his watchword to the final hour 
Upheld and quickened by his moral might, 

America's ideals, honor, strength and power. 

He was, to every creed and every mortal, kin: 
The worth of human effort he revealed. 

Mankind is richer for his having been 

Although his lips by silent Death are sealed. 

The generations of the future shall relate 

The many merits of this useful man who knew 

The function both of citizen and leader of the State 
To whom we bid a tender last adieu! 

The earthly garment from his soul has passed away 
But far and fair his light and life have shed 

A lustrous glow and warmth that shall forever stay 
Until the last American is dead! 




THE BELL OF LIBERTY. 



Welcome the BELL OF LIBERTY 
That rang release from tyranny! 
It tells of that immortal day 
"Proclaim liberty through all the land" — 
When brave men stood for freedom's sway 
And smote the rude oppressor's hand! 

(These words from ancient Israel 
Adorn the face of Freedom's Bell) 
"To all inhabitants thereof" 
Creed, color, caste — all here sloughed off. 

Then let us guard, with life itself 
That pearl beyond all price or pelf — 
FREEDOM! so dearly gained and won: — 
FREEDOM ! man's chief est, greatest sun' 

May all the struggling nations know 

Fair Liberty's bright, golden glow! — 

Their deadly cannon mold to bells 

Proclaiming liberty ; the hells 

Of war, discordant, cease : 

And Freedom reign in lasting Peace! 




iHiiiDiiiiiiniinaniiiiiiiiHaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiHiiiiiuiantiiiitiiiaiitiiiniiiiBitttiiiiiiiii 

ADDRESSES 

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ANTI-JEWISH PREJUDICE. 




(An Address Before Missouri Lodge, I. O. B. B.) 

Prejudice began in the Garden of Eden when Cain became jealous 
of Abel and slew him. 

Of the last two men who will inhabit the earth, one may be 
prejudiced, for hatred, like love, is a passion that lives in humanity. 

Anti-Jewish prejudice is a peculiar disease. Doctors who have 
diagnosed it differ as to whether it is located in the head or in the 
liver, for ignorant and so-called educated people both are subject to it. 

How did anti-Jewish prejudice begin? What encouraged it? 
What kept it alive? Did it exist prior to the Christian era? What 
can cure it? What has lessened it? Are we to blame for it?' Is it 
everywhere the same? How should we meet it? Is there any hope 
for its extinction ? Should w^e fight it ? Should we run away from it ? 
What can the B'nai B'rith do to make it less? 

There are some of the interesting points, any one of which would 
require an evening to consider fully. 

The story of the Creation is told in the Bible in a few hundred 
words and the Ten Commandments also, so perhaps we can secure a 
birds-eye view of anti-Jewish prejudice in a few short minutes. 

The first important individual whose anti-Jewish prejudice 
brought to him a peck of trouble was the Pharaoh of Egypt, of whom 
we read in the Book of Exodus. If we regard that news report as 
thoroughly authentic, his mistreatment of the Jews in Egypt brought 
him ten plagues, including frogs, locusts, darkness, blood and 
"cooties." The last-named alone must have been terrible, if we 
credit the tales of many of the returned heroes from the European 
trenches. 

There have been a number of the breed of Pharoah since that 
ancient day, including emperors, popes and kings, down to the recent 
German emperor. 

Nearly every nation has had its bloody anti-Jewish page, but 
all such nations, with the possible exception of Poland, are either 
dead or else transformed today. Poland, too, must reform or die — 
for anti-Jewish prejudice and modern civilization are conflicting terms. 

Mighty Egypt had its Pharaoh — where is Egypt? Omnipotent 
Rome destroyed Jerusalem — where is the Roman Empire? Modern 
anti-Semitism had its origin in Germany — and where, oh, where is 
that Germany? 



98 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



What Are Some Forms of Prejudice? 

The forms of anti-Jewish prejudice are various — ranging from a 
massacre or "pogrom" in Poland, to blackbalHng a Jewish candidate 
in a Masonic lodge in America. It includes burning at the stake in 
Spain in the 15th century to not receiving an invitation to a select 
social dinner dance in the land of the free and the home of the brave ! 
What Causes Prejudice? 

The causes of anti-Jewish prejudice are several. The chief cause, 
but not the sole one, is religious. The others are social, economic 
and political. 

Even before the Christian era there was anti-Jewish prejudice, 
as the repeated conflicts of the Jew and heathen tribes would indicate. 
Perhaps Jewish pride in its spiritual superiority of a belief in one 
God, and Jewish separateness against intermarriage, fostered this 
feeling, as it does now. 

When Christianity arose and, through the aid of Constantine, 
the Emperor in Byzantium, gained its ascendancy, the refusal of the 
Jewish people to adopt Christianity brought on religious persecution 
and oppression. This senseless wrong continued for long centuries. 
From its awful degrading effects upon the masses of our people, 
Jewish life is still suffering today. 

While much of anti-Jewish prejudice is today attributable to 
religious difference, and specifically to the criminal teaching in 
Christian Sunday schools, that Jews crucified Christ, yet business 
rivalry and political considerations are as vital as the factor of 
rehgion. This is proven by the fact that anti-Jewish prejudice exists 
in many people who have drifted from the Church. 
Is Prejudice Declining? 

That anti-Jewish prejudice is passing cannot be denied. Contrast 
conditions now and in the past. 

The French Revolution, the American Revolution, the great 
world-war through which we have just passed, have altered things. 
The growth of international democracy and common sense has un- 
fanged the intolerance of Church and State. 

The decline of anti-Jewish prejudice is plain when we reflect, 
with wonder, that a Jew is England's Lord Chief Justice ; a Jew is an 
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and two gov- 
ernors of the United States are Jewish! Ludwig Biro, a Jew, is 
Foreign Minister in the Hungarian Cabinet. Baron Sonnino, a Jew, 
has been Foreign Minister of Italy during the war. A Jew, M. Louis 
Lucien Klotz, is Minister of Finance in France and member of the 
Peace Conference. Eleven Jews are in England's Parliament. 

Here in the City of St. Louis for 100 years there was no Jewish 
judge, yet within the last fifteen years no less than five Jewish men 
were chosen to the Circuit Bench as judges! The President of the 
Board of Aldermen of the city, next in rank to the Mayor, is also a 
Tew and a Ben B'rith! All the five judges are also members of the 
B'nai B'rith ! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 99 



How Should Anti-Jewish Prejudice Be Met? 

To fight it has invited often martyrdom. To fear it signifies a 
lack of courage. 

To conciliate it is hypocrisy. To bear it takes the joy of life 
away. 

In America, the continued use of strange, outlandish speech such 
as Yiddish and of foreign customs that are un-American, enlarge un- 
favorable misunderstanding of the Jew. They make him seem as 
alien as the Chinese with his long braided queue. We are sufficiently 
if not too clannish without being peculiar. We have our separate 
lodges, social clubs and cemeteries. We have the Abrahamitic rite. 

Political Zionism — the attempt to classify us as a separate nation, 
— with a Jewish state in Palestine, is not a cure for anti- Jewish preju- 
dice. The remedy is worse than the disease ! It is like burning a 
barn to get rid of a rat ! It implies divided loyalty. 

Intermarriage is a cure — but a cure that kills like a surgical oper- 
ation which is successful, but where alas ! the patient dies ! 

Although, in America, thank Heaven, the Jew is equal before the 
law — and citizen and peer throughout the land, — yet there are summer 
resorts where "neither Jews nor dogs" will be received as guests. 
Some snobbish social clubs exclude Jews from their membership. 
Some fashionable seminaries take no Jewish girls. In many univer- 
sity fraternities Jewish students are barred. We see firms who still ad- 
vertise quite piously for "Christian help only." Occasional stories and 
picture films portray the Jew as criminal. "Shylock" is still used in 
text-books of some public schools. Jews, too, are unwelcome as 
tenants in certain "select" apartment houses, hotels, private streets 
and "places." "Sheeny" is now and then still used as an endearing 
term. 

But all this is lessening. In America the Jew mingles freely and 
co-operates commercially, socially, educationally, charitably and pa- 
triotically with his fellow countrymen of other faiths in every city 
in the Union. He is valued and appreciated. 

Jewish people are more and better understood and respected in 
spite of some very undesirable specimens, such as the loud-mouthed, 
vulgar, noisy Jew, the ostentatious, braggart Jew, the dress-and-dia- 
mond-displaying Jew (and Jewess!), the coarse, uncouth, uncleanly 
and odorous Jew, the "care-for-nothing-but-card-playing" Jew, the 
tricky, swindling, cheating Jew, the political, corrupt "job-hunting" 
Jew, the miserly, unsympathetic Jew, and the dissipated, pleasure- 
pursuing, sensual, glutton Jew. 

Happily, the truer, better Jews vastly outnumber and exceed these 
objectionable types. The true Jews who are helping to diminish anti- 
Jewish prejudice here in America, are those brave lighting Jews who 
stood, like Krotochinsky, fearlessly in the fierce fire of the battle of 
Argonne in the cause of world-justice and democracy, — civic Jews 
like Adler, Straus and Morgenthau and all liberty-loving, law-abiding 
Jews, conspicuous or humble, efficient worker-Jews in trades and 
professions, kindly, broadminded Jews who help the needy of all 



100 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



creeds, courteous, cultured Jews who care for education and good 
manners, worthy Jews of character and honor, upright Jews whose 
standards of integrity in business square with honesty rather than 
wath profit ! 

If we study the past, we find that along with progress of mankind 
there have been, in every land, bold, manly men, who, at the risk of 
death, have championed justice to the Jew, and stood up for his right 
to Hfe, to liberty and happiness. 

In this glorious galaxy a few distinguished Christian names shine 
with the Jewish stars. Their fight was synonymous with the battle 
for the rights of man, for Jewish rights and human rights are one and 
the same. 

What Can the B'nai B'rith Do? 

The B'nai B'rith and every Ben B'rith can do no nobler work 
than fighting for these Jewish rights in the very midst of the nation in 
which it has its being, whether it be Russia, Poland or America. In 
America is its chief great field and opportunity to win the priceless 
treasure of Jewish recognition and respect, by the evidence of an 
undivided loyalty, a fervent patriotism and a full participation in the 
higher thought and progress of the land. 

There is one form of ugly, serious anti- Jewish prejudice that 
should be mentioned with deep shame. It is the prejudice of Jew 
against Jew, of Russian versus German Jew, of Zionist versus anti- 
Zionist Jew, of orthodox versus reform Jew, of poor Jew versus rich 
Jew, in fact, of any one Jew who differs from another Jew. This 
bitterness prevents our progress. Perhaps the B'nai B'rith can in 
part remove this vilest form of anti-Jewish prejudice. 

^ :i< s^ * * * ♦ 

In the account of the plagues visited on Pharaoh in Egypt, there 
was one, the plague of darkness, that was "so thick it could be felt." 
It put out the light of the sun. 

In our day we see coming the brighter, better period, when the 
reverse will be true, when the sun of civilization and of progress will 
put out the thick darkness of bigotry, religious intolerance and anti- 
Jewish prejudice, whether founded on religious bias, economic busi- 
ness jealousy, social exclusiveness or political discrimination. 

In that larger, world-embracing light of education, fellowship 
and brotherhood, — such a subject as "Anti-Jewish Prejudice" will 
be fit only for the consideration of the investigator of fossils and 
antiquities. 

Every Ben B'rith, and every Jew or Jewess, who by a personal 
conduct and example promotes the progress of the Jewish people, is 
serving ALL humanity. He, or she, earns the everlasting gratitude 
of Judaism and of ALL mankind, for through such service the bright 
day is nearer brought, when the misunderstandings between man and 
man — of which anti-Jewish prejudice is one — will disappear, at least 
as far as complicated human life and human nature will permit. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL IQl 

WALTER L. SHELDON 



An Appreciation 



Spoken at the Memorial Exercises of the Children's Sunday 
Assembly, May 4, 1919. 



There are three graces for a woman — Purity, Modesty and 
Gentleness. 

In genuine men, we look for three companion qualities — Wis- 
dom, Power and Sincerity. 

I knew a man of noble mould who, in his being, happily com- 
bined this double trinity of virtues — masculine and feminine. 

He was modest, gentle, true, earnest, wise and strong. 

This superior man had faults — because, you see, he was a human 
being. Mortals cannot be divine. 

His many merits so eclipsed his errors that I can remember only 
his outstanding excellence. 

I know that this admirable man of highest worth had a remark- 
able power for good. He permanently influenced the lives of many 
people. 

His sincerity, his earnestness, his singleness of purpose to foster 
and perfect development of heart and mind was so self-evident that 
it awakened an immediate response. He succeeded because he was 
sincere. People believed in him and he trusted humanity. 

He was action personified — mental and physical. Restlessly ag- 
gressive, he shortened his so valuable life by his overzeal. 

Of modern sins, three of the greatest are hypocrisy, intolerance 
and ignorance. 

None of these found a place in Mr. Sheldon. He despised cant 
prejudice and bigotry. He preached and practiced optimism, fellow- 
ship and self-reliance. 

Like some beneficent magician, with his enchanter's wand he 
led us through deep caverns of world-knowledge, loading us with 
gems of literature, of morals and of lofty deeds. 

He found these golden treasures in the Hebrew prophets, in 
the Christian Savior, in Confucius, Mohammed, Buddha, Shakes- 
peare, Eliot and Emerson. 

He showed us how these precious jewels were for daily use in life. 
He spoke always of Justice and Duty but he came to these great 
central plazas from so many different avenues of thought that, like 
the sunrise dawn, they seemed ever new and fresh, and stimulating 
as the morning air. 

Duty was to him the "Stern Daughter of the Voice of God" — 
and "neither the evening nor the morning star was more beautiful 
than Justice." Mankind was his Bible, — America his sacred altar. 
.Twelve years ago on a rare day in June, Mr. Sheldon's life, as 



102 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



rare and beautiful as any day in June, was closed — while all the 
use and service of that life was at its best and highest. His passing 
was as noble as his living. "Good-bye!' "All's well!" he said — • 
Auf Wiedersehen!" 

We sorrowed then, as now — but "still the generations of the birds 
sing through our sighing." 

He has not heard the war-din of the recent conflict nor the cheer- 
ing welcome to returning heroes — but for the principles for which 
the war was fought and for which too many bled, he battled also 
while he lived. 

Courageously and steadfastly he held aloft, year-in, year-out, 
for human betterment and comradeship, the guidon and the oriflamme 
of true democracy, of justice to the weak and responsibility of serv- 
ice in the strong. 

He passed away — but not his work. He died — but not the fruit 
of his endeavor. His body rests but not his deathless soul which 
lives, expressed in action here and elsewhere, where he lit the inex- 
tinguishable lights of wisdom and of duty. 

Those for whom he kindled the forever flaming torches of in- 
tellect and conscience, will light the lamps of others. 

Wider and greater will be the growing circle of light until, 
through such as he has been, all mankind shall be finally and joy- 
fully illuminated. 

Earth will be inhabited then by a perfected fellowship in which 
duty and justice shall prevail. The differences of blood and creed 
shall be obliterated. 

When that great radiance shall pervade the earth it will have 
been made possible by an immortal "Choir Invisible who live again 
in minds made better by their presence." 

Among that "choir invisible" there shall stand in fond remem- 
brance ever, this classic face and stately figure of a cherished, ne'er 
to-be-forgotten man of fruitful work and blessed memory — 

:): sj; 5(c :!; :|: ^ 

"Above the mould, we breathe the rose ! — " the rose of recol- 
lection of his personality — the joy of having shared the bounty of 
his wisdom and his excellence ! 



d^ ""-Hi 



I 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 103 



THE OBJECTIONS TO A JEWISH STATE 



Address Before the Senior Alumni United Hebrew Congregation 



Judaism is a religion — not a nationality. We are Jews by faith and 
ancestry, Americans by choice and nationality. We cannot have con- 
sistently, two different nationalities simultaneously. 

Hon. Henry Morgenthau, former Ambassador to Turkey says: 

"Let me repeat most emphatically — we Jews in America are Jews 
in religion and Americans in nationality. It is through America and 
•her institutions that we shall work out our part in bringing better ideals 
and morals and sounder principles of policy to the whole world." 

Our late Theodore Roosevelt said : 

"There can be no divided allegiance in America. Any man who 
says he is an American but also is something else ; isn't an American 
at all." 

To segregate a million Jews in Palestine under a so-called "Jewish 
State" would create only a "glorified Ghetto." 

To form a Jewish State in Palestine is to invite disaster. The 
Arabs, 600,000 of them, vastly outnumber the present Jewish popula- 
tion. They are bitterly opposed. They object decidedly, fanatically, 
but justly to surrendering political supremacy of what they regard 
as their land — to a minority of Jewish hands. They will not stop at 
violence. The Mohammedan world is with them. 

This hostile Arab view is shared by Christians — who are less 
outspoken, but equally antagonistic. 

There are, in Palestine, 600,000 Arabs, 150,000 Christians and 
only 80,000 Jews. 

Zionists claim Christian approval of the movement. Such Chris- 
tians who favor it do so because according to their Testament inter- 
pretation, the restoration of Jews in Palestine is to preface the second 
coming of Christ on earth, after which the Jewish people will be 
absorbed entirely by Christianity. 

A Jewish State in Palestine could not insure Jewish security, 
stability of safety. Nine-tenths of the Jewish people would be in 
other lands. The same antagonism shown to groups in certain lands 
could be directed COLLECTIVELY against the Palestine "Jewish 
Nation." 

A Jewish State without an army and navy would be a helpless 
thing, if such a "state" was independent. 

Possessing armaments would mean not only heavy taxes, but 
also would give war-provocation soon or late. Being a buffer state, 
it would, like Belgium be the battlefield of conflict of opposing nations. 

Half the effort to redeem the land would bring twice the results 
in America or other lands. 

As to spiritual Jewish culture — Palestine is not an indispensable 
necessity, in this modern age. 

A Jewish State in Palestine would only emphasize Jewish clann- 



104 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



nish separateness, even if we did not all go there. It would make 
the gulf greater between us and our fellowmen and women of other 
faiths. 

Whatever would be done in Palestine by the "Jewish nation" 
would justly or unjustly commit ALL Jews, whether or not they 
were responsible for it. 

Prof. Ralph Boas says : 

"Zionists would consciously or unconsciously dragoon us into 
a citizenship and a nationality which we do not want. It is all very 
well for Zionists to say that non-Zionists will not be affected by what 
goes on in a new Jerusalem, but they are not facing the facts. Who 
of us Jews can't escape being drafted into whatever is done by a 
'Jewish nation' under a 'Jewish flag?'" 



If Zionism meant only colonization, or just religion, or merely 
culture, no objection could exist. 

It is calamitous POLITICAL Zionism, the folly and mistaken 
ambition to form a Jewish separate State that is resented and rouses 
opposition. 

It is against the good of Judaism. It is in conflict with the 
progress and the welfare of the Jewish people of all lands, chiefly of 
those in East Europe. The first thing their oppressors in the less 
enlightened lands would do is to wish them into Palestine or expel 
them to go there and Palestine could not receive them ! 

The Jewish question will be solved WITHOUT a Jewish State. 

Everywhere (even in Russia and Poland) the sun of progress is 
beginning to shine. The clouds are scattering. Intolerance is de- 
clining. 

In every land Jewish rights, civil and religious, are being recog- 
nized and guaranteed. 

Such defects as there are would also be if any Jewish State ex- 
isted. The millenium is not here. A Jewish State could not in- 
augurate it. 

In a Jewish political State, religion would probably be a con- 
trolling factor if the sentiment of many Zionists ruled. The combina- 
tion of rehgion and government is repulsive to modern thought, which 
believes in complete separation of church and State. 

If religion did not figure in the proposed Jewish State (the other 
horn of the dilemma), the chief aim of the Jewish State according 
to other Zionists, would be defeated. The Jewish State would be 
wrecked on either Scylla or Charybdis. 

A Jewish State in Palestine would be a "buft'er" State and if 
you know what a "buffer" is, you can draw a natural conclusion of 
what would happen to it if two Powers clashed — with the "buffer" 
State between ! 

As a spiritual and cultural centre, America is the proper field. 
We have synagogues, lodges, religious schools, Talmud Torahs, Jew- 
ish Chautauquas, Union of Hebrew Congregations, Rabbinical Con- 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 105 



ference, Jewish charities, and everything. It is up to us to foster 
them. 

The times have changed immensely since the day of Herzl. Were 
he living now in these marvelous days of world-transformation he 
might be an anti-Zionist himself! 

When Herzl lived, France had a Dreyfus case, but Dreyfus was 
acquitted. Today there are seven Jewish generals in the French 
army. 

When Herzl lived, a Jew was not Chief Justice of Great Britain, 
nor was a Jew on the United States Supreme Court Bench, and two 
Jews Governors of States. 

In Russia, Bellis, accused of ritual murder, under the Czar was 
also freed. And today the assertion is made that the Jewish people 
rule that upset land ! 

Persecution of the Jew suggested to Herzl that Zionism was a 
remedy, but persecution of the Jew is passing and does not now re- 
quire such a remedy. 

A Jewish State in Palestine would be no cure for anti-Jewish 
persecution. Just the reverse. To run away from persecution is 
not to cure it. 

Three hundred prominent Jewish leaders in America signed and 
sent a protest to Paris to the Peace Conference against the project 
of a Jewish State in Palestine. The following paragraphs occur in 
this protest : 

"It is an error to assume that the bond uniting the Jews is of 
a national character. They are bound by two factors : First, the 
bond of common religious beliefs and aspirations, and secondly, the 
bond of common traditions, customs and experiences, largely, alas, 
of common trials and sufferings." 

* * * 

"We ask that Palestine be constituted as a free and independent 
state, to be governed under a democratic form of government recog- 
nizing no distinctions of creed or race or ethnic descent, and with 
adequate power to protect the country against oppression of any 
kind. We do not wish to see Palestine, either now or at any time 
in the future, organized as a Jewish State." 

Palestine will be "internationalized" we hope, to be a home- 
land for ALL people, Jews included. This would be the justest, 
wisest course. 

A Jewish political State is not an advance, but a retreat, a con- 
fession of defeat. The hands of Time may be turned back temporarily 
an hour by act of Congress, but not 2,000 years. Even Zionists are 
powerless to do that ! 

Instead of "Back to Palestine" — to Asia, Arabs and internal 
strife, let us go "FORWARD WITH GOD AND FAITH," with 
America and civilization — to universal human progress, in which the 
Jew shall surely have his rightful share and liberal portion. 



106 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



(An address February 12, 1909 before the children of the Patrick- 
Henry Public School, Saint Louis.) 



One hundred and ten years ago (February 12, 1809), an American 
boy was born in a tumble-down log cabin in Kentucky. What was 
his name? (Four hundred children shouted: "Abraham Lincoln!") 

There was no ringing of bells, no shouting, no rejoicing when 
this baby boy was born. 

Not so when he died. 

Then millions of American men, women and children mourned 
his death. Kings and queens and princes sent their words of sym- 
pathy. 

Why was this grief? 

The country had lost its greatest citizen, its loftiest soul, its 
noblest patriot since Washington. 

What was there in the 56 years of this life of Abraham Lincoln 
that made his name so great, that ever since his death, in every state, 
orators and writers speak and write of his wondrous career and honor 
his fair memory? 

You are American boys and girls. Your teachers and your 
splendid principal are all Americans. This is an American school. 
I am an American. 

Because we are all Americans and love our country, we want to 
know more and more about those great men and women who built up, 
and those who, later, maintained this wonderful United States when 
danger threatened it. 

We want to learn who they were and what they did to earn and 
win their fame, so that we can more truly and intelligently appreciate 
and venerate them. 

We desire to understand what they did and, if possible, how 
they did it, in order that, as true Americans, we, too, in a modest way 
may follow in their footsteps to show ourselves deserving of the 
blessings we enjoy through them. 

Of course you all know all about Abraham Lincoln's life, — how 
he had only one short year of school education, how in spite of that 
he learned to read and write, — how he had to work hard, very hard, 
at the roughest kind of work. 

He only had five books, including the Bible, Aesop's Fables and a 
"Life of Washington," but he was so hungry for education that he 
learned more from these five books than some do from whole libraries. 
He borrowed some books as he grew older, walking fifty miles to 
get one that he wanted. 

How many of you would walk fifty miles through a wild country 
to borrow a good book that would help to educate and elevate your 
mind ? 

(Only about six little ones raised their hands to this!) 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 107 



Once he borrowed a book and the book was soaked wet from the 
rain which came through the log cabin cracks, and he had to work 
three solid days for the farmer whose book it was to make up for it. 
Then the farmer let him have the book and Lincoln carefully dried 
the wet pages and kept the book as one well worth the work he had 
to do to get it. 

Lincoln had one advantage. He had a good mother, but she died 
when he was 10 years old. His stepmother was (unlike most step- 
mothers) also kind to him, though all that she could give was encour- 
agement, good advice and counsel. 

You all remember how this rough, tall, hardy boy (who was so 
honest and upright that they called him "Honest Abe"), this lad who 
while splitting rails for a living, doing chores, pulling an oar on a 
flat boat, running errands and planting corn, still found time to study 
surveying and law. You probably know how he became a young 
lawyer (and an honest lawyer, remember), a politician and finally the 
sixteenth president of the United States. 

Don't think for a moment that he jumped magically from the log- 
cabin to the White House ! Such rapid transformations happen only 
in fairy tales. No fairies helped Abraham Lincoln, unless you call 
"honesty" and "perseverance" fairies. 

No, his progress was slow. Just as you pass from one room in 
this school to the next room higher up, so he alvanced. By steady 
work, by self-improvement, by being watchful, faithful, earnest, hon- 
est and attentive he rose to higher places till he reached the highest 
office that can be held by any American, the Presidency of the great 
United States ! 

I need not tell you how, in spite of his best efiforts, war broke 
out between the North and South, because the Southern states wanted 
to leave the Union, having quarreled with the Northern states be- 
cause of slavery. 

When Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers the men of the 
North loyally responded : "We are coming, Father Abraham, three 
hundred thousand strong." 

You all know how, through his great wisdom, foresight, patience 
and persistence as President, the government came through the war 
successfully and the Union was saved to be "forever one and insep- 
arable !" 

Then, as you know, the slaves in 1862 were made free and that 
foul blot on America's fair name was for all time removed. 

Then came the sad and tragic end. 

Just when victory was won, the awful struggle over, peace in 
sight, the great hero-hearted, splendid-souled American was shot in 
the back by a misguided, wretched man, and a day later this loved and 
lovable leader, Lincoln, breathed his last. 

Why do we revere and love this man? 

His life has stirred and stimulated millions of young men. The 
greatness of his noble soul has marked for everlasting good the future 
men and women of our land. 



108 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



His unflinching devotion, his unshakable endurance, his trium- 
phant overcoming of severest trials, his simple heroism of just doing 
his plain duty in a direct and manly way, his modesty, his gentle 
tenderness, his honesty, his unselfishness and fidelity are things that 
never can be hidden or forgotten. 

Abraham Lincoln was a man — not a saint — but he was a man 
in whom the good so greatly overweighed his minor defects, that you 
well may choose him for a pattern to be followed. 

Lincoln hated wrong. Do you hate wrong? When you see some 
one oppressed or injured, do you care? 

Lincoln loved everybody. Do you love everyone? Do you feel 
that all others are your brothers and sisters and can feel as well as 
you, each kind or unkind word or deed? 

Lincoln craved to learn. Do you appreciate knowledge? Do 
you feel that with every good new thing that you learn you are more 
than you were before? 

Lincoln knew human nature. Do you know human nature? Do 
you think all people are good, or all people bad, — or, can you distin- 
guish between the good and bad in different people? 

Lincoln was plain, simple and sincere. Are you sincere? Do 
you pose as more than you are or are you what you seem to appear 
to be? 

Lincoln was sympathetic. He felt for others. Do you feel any 
regard for others than yourself? 

These are a few qualities of the man Lincoln, that made him more 
than merely President. 

He was wise, prudent and careful. Not everyone is wise, pru- 
dent and careful. He was moderate and mild, slow to anger and 
quick to forgive. How quick are you to forgive your enemies ? 

Lincoln kept our country united, though it cost many lives and 
his own great precious one to do it. 

He brought about the abolition of slavery in America. 

He gave us a great and shining standard and an unforgettable 
example of how to do one's duty. 

For all this we love him. For all this we continue to love, praise 
and to reverence him. For all this the world crowns him with death- 
less immortality. 

Because he showed us how to live and how to die we owe him 
a debt of eternal gratitude that never can be paid. 

Let us try to be like Lincoln. That is the finest honor we can 
show him. Let us prove ourselves worthy of him by believing with 
him what he said in an address in New York, February 27, 1860: 
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us 
to the end, dare to do our duty, as we understand it." 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 109 



PROGRESS IN THE UNITED STATES. 



(One of three companion papers bearing on the progress of our 
country in 1904. Read before the Y. M. H. A. of St. Louis.) 



Figures are not in themselves interesting except to the specialist 
and statistician. Even without figures the subject of material prog- 
ress is not inspiring. 

If I were to tell you that, according to a review in one of our 
leading journals, the year 1904 has been one of unchecked material 
progress in the United States, you would not be startled. If I were, 
according to the same authority, to further add that we have gained 
two million inhabitants, making our total population nearly 85,000,000, 
you would take it as a matter of fact. Yet this is true in spite of 
the alarming talk of race-suicide in the United States. However, 
immigration did as much as the stork to bring this about. 

If I were to inform you as the same source has informed me 
that we have added about three billion dollars to our national wealth, 
which is now estimated at over one hundred and eleven billion dol- 
lars, you would complacently hear me utter it. 

Incidentally if I mentioned that the expenses of the general gov- 
ernment have risen to nearly two million dollars a day, you might 
elevate your eyebrows, but when you reflect on the bigness of the 
country of which you are each one eighty-five millionth part, you 
wold consider the expenditure required. 

The value of the year's crops has been the greatest ever known. 
Our foreign commerce has surpassed all American records, and that 
without ship subsidies. 

Our domestic commerce has exceeded the total volume of the 
foreign trade of all the nations of the world combined. 

If this climax of evidence of our material progress is not enough 
to inflate the head of every American who considers material prog- 
ress the goal and ambition of a nation, then I am at a loss to conceive 
v/hat further statement to make. 

It might be instructive to bring to you an array of figures com- 
paring 1904 to preceding years, but my sympathies for your comfort 
and pleasure will not permit me to enter into an exhaustive data 
of comparative statistics on corn, cotton, cattle and coin, on wheat, 
work and watered stock, on exportation, importation and frenzied 
finance exploitation. 

Money, markets and millions, may seem attractive subjects, but 
to thinking people there is something tiresome in a discussion of 
them. 

True the substance and material things of the world are the 
first requisites in the way of enabling us to continue the physical exis- 
tence, but without beginning to moralize or philosophize, it will bear 
repetition to say that many of us forget how little we really require 
to fill the needs of the body. 

Under our competitive system many of us rest under the convic- 



110 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



tion that the world is against every man, and, therefore, every man 
must fight for himself, even at the expense of his fellowmen. 

This has bred business selfishness, in the light of which, any methods 
that will bring increased financial returns, are considered justifiable. 
Business sagacity, combined with great capitalistic powers, has thus en- 
abled a comparative few to secure the control of most of the material 
wealth of which our country boasts. 

The result has been that the great wealth of this country is not shared 
proportionately. Very much of it is in the hands of a few, giving them 
more than the requirements of an ordinary human life demand. 

It is not in place here to argue along socialistic lines, nor do I feel 
any thorough need of them. I am an optimistic and faithful believer 
in the stability of our United States and of the ability of our statesmen 
(mind I did not say our politicians) to meet this great perplexing problem 
of adjusting industrial conditions so that the great material increase 
and wealth in which our country rejoices may be shared in reasonable 
bounty with every one of its eighty-five million human beings. 

I have tried to confine myself to what is considered under the head 
of material things of life, not wishing to intrench upon the fields of my 
more learned and more able colleagues. 

I said the subject of material progress was not inspiring. I take that 
back. There is nothing more inspiring than industry, the creater of all 
material wealth. The farmer tilling the soil, ploughing, seeding, reaping 
and harvesting, the miner exploring the bowels of the earth, the sailors 
traversing the mighty restless main, the artisan mechanic ingeniously 
working, weaving and contriving in metals, fabrics, stone and wood, 
the scholar studying, the savant penetrating, the artist limning beauty, 
the preacher teaching duty, what is it all but typification of restless 
energy, ceaseless change, the embodiment of the work of Divinity 
itself! 

But in parting from you, do not let me leave you under the impres- 
sion that I regard merchandise, crops and money as the true material 
wealth of the LTnited States or any nation. 

The material wealth of a country may seem to be in its fertile fields, 
its miles of railroads, its stately ships, its sky-scraping structures, its 
smoking mills and foundries, its billowy crops, its bountiful orchards, its 
herds of stock, its mountains of ore. But let us not be so deluded as to 
believe that that completes the inventory of our real assets. 

These are merely the substratum of our material wealth to feed the 
physical body. It is the manhood and womanhood of our individual 
Americans ; it is our public schools, that enable us to maintain this model 
ideal republic before the world ; it is our art institutions that serve to 
cultivate the higher sense of the beautiful; it is our scientific bodies that by 
their search discover the invisible elements and properties of nature, 
making two blades of grass grow where one grew before ; it is the 
religious and ethical communities that restrain our selfish impulses 
and foster our nobler generosity and justice, to the realization that the 
earth and its products are not the work of man, but of a superior om- 
nipotent force and power, which surely intended that every human 
creature should share reasonably in the comfort and industries of 
life — all these are our real assets. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 111 



All these have grown, I truly and sincerely believe for the United 
States in 1904, gloomy pessimism to the contrary. 

May they continue to grow. May our fields flourish further. But 
with our material wealth may our hearts and our minds expand to magna- 
nimity, to justice, generosity and truth. 

Let us not despise labor and material power. Let us remember 
what the great French champion of Dreyfus said of labor : Remem- 
ber that Labor is the unique natural law of the world, the regulator 
which leads organized matter to its unknown goal." 

Life has no other meaning; we only appear on this earth in order 
that we may each contribute our share of labor and disappear. One can 
only define life by that motion which is communicated to it and which 
it transmits, and which, after all, is but so much labor toward the great 
final work to be accomplished in the depths of the ages. 



THE CHOICE OF A VOCATION. 



The editor of "The Modern View" had the pleasant privilege of 
addressing the young men at one of the Fellowship suppers at the 
Y. M. H. A. for this season. The subject discussed was "The Choice of 
a Vocation." 

Each of the young men was asked three questions, namely: 

1. What is your vocation? Did you choose it? 

2. Would you change it if you could and why? 

3. Do you think young men are qualified to choose their own voca- 
tions ? 

The answers were extremely interesting. They afforded the fifty 
young men at the table much pleasure and instruction. There were 
young men in business, in the professions, in the arts, and in colleges. 
The variety of opinion and the incidental discussion, serious and humor- 
ous, made the evening profitable as well as entertaining. 

Sentiment was about equally divided as to whether young men be- 
tween the ages of 17 and 22 were competent to choose, intelligently, 
their own vocations or professions. One young man stated that from his 
boyhood he had no doubt as to his preference, namely, a commercial 
career. Another one on the other hand who is now in a mercantile po- 
sition felt that if he could change he would be a lawyer. (He was 
asked why he did not study at night, paying his tuition with his earn- 
ings?) 

Another had tried medicine because his mother wanted a doctor in 
the family, and then law because his brother told him that was better, 
then found himself without a taste for either and absolutely undecided 
what to choose. One young man candidly avowed a desire to be a pro- 
fessional ballplayer, and his reason was "because they get the dough !" 
To offset this another found his inclination in the love and study of 
art, while another had found himself in successful civil engineering. 



112 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



The ambition of another was to be of public service in reforming social 
conditions. 

The general opinion prevailed that the choice of a vocation should 
be for the purpose of bettering one's economic condition. 

The subject w^as introduced by the editor of "Tlie Modern View" 
with the following remarks, and he acted as the interrogator and com- 
mentator of the various answers and replies to the questions specified 
above. 

It is believed that everyone is fitted for something. This may be or 
may not be absolutely true, but that some of us are better fitted for the 
performance of certain endeavors and less for others is a reasonably 
certain fact. 

By this reasoning the first consideration for finding one's proper 
sphere ought to be the discovery as to what and where our qualifications 
tend, and how to make connection with our proper field of industry or 
action. This opens a wide area for misjudging and misconceiving our 
abilities and talents. Some of us who would make fine shoemakers are 
convinced that we are qualified to be ideal lawmakers. 

This is the calamity of our civilization — that innumerable human 
beings are "vocational misfits." That is why work is so closely identified 
with drudgery. That is why we do not laugh or sing while we labor. 
"The labor we delight in physics pain," and "To business that we love 
we rise betimes and go to with delight" are both absolutely true ; but 
how many (or, rather, how few of us) delight in our labors! 

There is only one thing worse in my opinion than not having a job, 
position, business, trade, vocation, employment, occupation, calling, pur- 
suit or profession, and that is to be in one that does not fit you or in 
which you do not fit. This leads naturally to the question : How did 
we get into our present occupations and why do we continue at it? 

Work and play are interchangeable terms, accordingly as they are 
congenial or uncongenial. 

Some of us are about as particular in the choice of a vocation as the 
applicant at a florist shop who wanted a job "to pick the blossoms from a 
century plant." 

There are about 100,000 occupations in this complex civilization of 
today. 

If we want a graphic, striking contrast between the primitive life 
of man and of civilized society today we need but contrast the variety in 
occupations. The earliest men were hunters. The need for food is the 
first demand of life. Many of us are still "hunters" — of jobs, or of find- 
ing our proper sphere. "Happy is the man who has found his work." 

Should a vocation be regarded only from the standpoint of financial 
compensation? Is "Easy Street" our only destination? 

Let us hope that our occupation, vocation or profession, whatever it 
may be, may bring not only to us, but to our fellowmen as well, a bene- 
fit and good. 

Emerson says : 

"The high prize of life, the crowning fortune of a man, is to be born 
with a bias to some pursuit that finds him employment and happiness." 




REBECCA 




RUTH 




THREE ROSENFELD POEMS. 



(Translated from the Yiddish of Morris Rosenfeld.) 

IN THE SWEAT SHOP. 

So furiously roar in the shops the machines 

I forget that I live, forget what life means. 

I am lest in the terrible tumult and din, 

My self disappears — / become a machine! 

I work and I work and I work as I bend — 

/ toil and I toil and I toil without end — 

For what? and for whom? I know not, nor inquire, 

For can a machine to such thinking aspire? 

No feeling, no thinking, no reason remains there 
The ruthless mad labor embitters and kills, 
The finest, the noblest, the best and the richest. 
The deepest, the highest that living instils. 
Fast vanish the seconds, the minutes, the hours : 
Swift sail by like ships, both the night and the day, 
I drive the machine as though I would catch it, 
I chase it in vain — its speed will not stay. 

The clock in the workshop it rests not a moment. 
It ticks and it points, and it strikes now and then, 
— (A man once explained that a moral and meaning 
Lie hid in its marking and striking of time) — 
That meaning I reck not, except that within me 
It wakens my being to living and sense. 
And more too, forgotten, forgotten — naught ask me, 
I know not, I know not! I am a machine! 

At times when I list to the sounds of its ticking 
Its words come to me in a different lore, 
I think that its pendulum Unrest betokens 
And urges me on to "Work more!" to "Work more!" 
I hear in its tones but the boss' wild anger 
His sinister eyes in its hands seem to show 
The clock, oh! I shudder — but seems to goad onward 
And cries "Thou machine!" "Sew faster!" "Sew!" "Sew!' 



114 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



At noon when subdued is the horrible tumult 
The master away (in the noon's short relief), 
Then slightly rise upward my spirit and senses 
My heart suffers pain and I feel my deep grief. 
Tears, tears, bitter tears, wet the crust of my bread 
It cholzes me! O bitter distress and dire need! 

Like a lull in the battle at noon is the shop, 
Like a field of the slaughtered when quiet doth reign 
The dead line in numbers around and about 
And up from the earth cries the blood of the slain. 
A minute! and then sounds the tocsin commanding 
The battle renews! with fresh slaughter and roar, 
The spectre battalions for strangers fight sore 
They battle and fall in oblivion and gore 

1 look at the field in mad anger and terror, 
Hate, horror and bitter revolt my heart rend. 
The clock now ticks loudly. Aright now I hear it. 
"An end to this serfdom, this serfdom must end!" 
My reason and feeling revive. How time flies! 
Unworthy am I if I cravenly bear it 
Lost only am I if I stay what I am! 

The man in me sleeping, begins to awaken 

The slave in me waking, is soothed to repose 

The right hour has sounded! the right hour has come! 

An end to this sorrow, an end to thes^ woes! 

But — presto! the whistle, the boss, the alarm! 

My reason is gone I forget where I am 

The battle is on. Men fight! I am lost! 

I know not, I care not! I am a machine! 



THE CANARY. 



Sweet carols the canary 

Lone in the zvildwood free, 
His pleasure who can measure! 
Or gauge his ecstasy F 

Sweet carols the canary 
In stately palace fair. 

But who can feel his sorrow, 
Or fathom his despair? 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 115 

LIBERTY. 



When all is still, no breath, 
As silent all as death; 
No sound upon our ears. 
In the dark depths of night. 
As if by magic's might 
Before me she appears. 

A fair and beauteous dar.ie. 
As pure as snow her frame. 
But cheeks so wan and pale, 
Her shoulders strong and bold, 
Her tresses glint like gold, 
Her eyes bcdimmed with tears. 

She looks on me and sighs. 

Raises her arms to show, 

A chain hangs from her hands! 

I feel, I know her wish. 

She asks of me in tears : 

"Release me from my bands!" 

With ardor glows my heart, 

I run with rapid tread 

The chain, that binds, to part. 

Alas! I fall aback! 

A serpent long and thick 

About her round entzvines. 

I shriek, I call, I weep. 
But awful the dull sleep 
I hear but heedless snores 
" 'Rise up!" 'oh! rise ye all' 
'And let the daylight fall' 
'Come make our Freedom free!' ' 

Silence — / work alone. 
Senseless sleeps on each stone! 
None stirs from out his place, 
None to my call responds. 
No foot is raised to aid, 
None help to break the bonds. 

But who can view the scene 
And still stay calm and cool. 
An end this, too, must take. 
The danger post I choose. 
I hear a voice "Thou fool!" 
From slumber then I wake. 



116 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

THE NEIGHBOR. 



(A Translation from the German.) 

"I always believed that you would live in your old residence 
until your death, and now I see that you have moved. How did that 
happen, my friend?" 

The pale man answered with some embarrassment : "I really 
did believe that I would complete my life in the old residence, and it 
grieved me exceedingly to be compelled to change now and accustom 
myself to new surroundings — for such a few years ! However — altered 
circumstances * * * there was nothing wrong with the resi- 
dence ; it was the neighborhood — rather the neighbor across the 
street." * * * He paused. 

His friend nodded comprehendingly. "I know. Neighbors can 
embitter one's life. Across the way from me is a family with a flock 
of children who have transformed our formerly peaceful street into 
a battlefield. I would move if I did not expect that that family would 
move sooner. Could you not have spared yourself the expense of 
moving by having a little patience?" 

"It was otherwise in my case," said the pale man. "I would be 
glad to tell it to you if I would not weary you." His friend nodded 
deprecatingly and the pale man related to him in a low and plaintive 
tone the following : 

"I had seen many neighbors come and go in the course of years 
without taking more than the superficial interest in them which the 
affairs of our fleeting life demand of us, until three or four 
years ago, when a young married couple occupied the rooms across 
the way. I saw them when they inspected the rooms, probably still 
as an engaged couple. I still see them as they stood together on the 
balcony, the reflection of bliss on their youthful countenances. I still 
see them as the young man moved about as though he were saying: 
'This will now be ou^ kingdom, the site of our happiness,' and how the 
young maiden joyfully and trustfully glanced up to him. After sev- 
eral weeks they moved into the place. 

"Happy people, enwrapt in themselves, do not suspect that many 
a lonesome individual observes their life with a sadly joyful partici- 
pation. I asked myself sometimes : If they knew that a lonely 
man, shut out from all the joys of life, shared with them their inno- 
cent felicity, would they have pulled the screens closer, or would they 
in the fullness of their joy have extended a share of their happiness 
to him who touched it only from afar? 

"It is well that they did not know or realize it, and thus lived 
their bliss in unrestricted freedom before my eyes. It was the spring- 
time when they came. The summer followed ; a summer which was 
truly a summer and not a winter in disguise. My young couple loved 
the sun and the air. The blinds and windows were always open, 
and at frequent intervals one or the other stood on the balcony to 
enjoy with loving pride the geraniums and other flowers in their 
wooden boxes that decorated the balcony. I naturally saw the wife 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 117 



oftener than the husband, who, because of his profession (he was an 
architect), was absent from home a greater part of the day. He 
breakfasted early. From the balcony, as he departed, she nodded 
and smiled at him and watched until he turned the corner at the end 
of the street. At this corner he ever raised his hat to her. Some- 
times he was in haste and omitted the return nod, but her eyes never 
forgot to follow him. 

**Then she turned to her housewifely duties with her little ruddy 
cheeked domestic, or they went shopping and came back heavily 
laden, the maid with the vegetables and poultry, the wife with the 
flowers and fruits. Many days the little wife sat sewing dainty 
dresses, such as she always wore, and, when her husband came home, 
he admired the work of her deft hands. 

"For a period of time the husband worked late at night, drawing 
while she sat quietly with her book, reading. Often she trod softly 
behind him to urge him to go to rest, but he declined. One day he 
came fairly leaping home, swinging his hat and crying 'Eureka!' 
With a return cry of joy she came running down from the balcony 
to meet him. When I later, therefore, read in the daily paper that 

the architect, G , had won first prize in a contest for the most 

artistic design for a public fountain, I was hardly learning anything 
new. 

"But whether he brought home prizes or not, he was always 
received with gladness. Happy is the man whose daily home-coming 
is a renewed festival of joy! What he saw was the responsive love 
that spoke the joy of possession with eyes and lips. What I saw 
was the long, weary waiting for him at the window, the looking down 
the street and the lighting up of her face when he came in sight. 
Fortunate man ! 

"It may appear to you as if I spent my entire time in just observ- 
ing thus my neighbors. Not so. I never watched them willfully or 
consciously, but when I sat at my window, writing, and looked out 
from my work my eyes often unconsciously glanced at my neighbors, 
who, I confess it, attracted me with fond sadness. What I now tell 
you, which seems a continuous story, was really a gathering up of 
many slight accidental observations which finally crystallized in my 
soul into a compact picture. 

"I became an observer, particularly, if unwillingly, at evening. 
Then I saw my young couple reading by the lamp or they sat in the 
twilight, hand in hand, her head resting on his shoulder, for they did 
not suspect that their embrace was evidence to the lonely one across 
the street by the silhouette on the screen from the illuminated room 
behind that in which they sat. At times, too, he would sit at the piano 
and play. Sometimes the wife stood thoughtfully behind him. Some- 
times she sat on the balcony and looked up to the stars, then listening 
again, looking anxiously back into the room, and I, the unseen third 
one, realized with emotion what was passing through the young 
woman's soul, the joy and the humility of a coming bliss, with pos- 
sibly an unexpected prayer to fate. * * * 



118 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



"I have sometimes wondered whether my participation in the 
joy of these strangers was rude or indiscreet, for I had, in a sense, 
passed from a mere spectator to one who was Uving their life with 
them. I told myself that happiness is too rare a thing for all men to 
experience, that it is a blessing of unfeeling fate that those to whom 
personal happiness has been denied can at least v/itness the joy and 
reflex light of the sun of happiness. With this thought I satisfied 
my scruples. 

"You may laugh, but I sometimes imagined that I was married — 
I who only had books as my companions- T began to interest myself 
in the price of coal and of meat. Once I caught myself standing in 
thought before one of the shop windows that contained all the things 
that a human being in the first year of its existence requires ! 

"* * * The winter approached and Christmas came. A bach- 
elor naturally has no Christmas tree, but my young couple had an 
elaborate one, and as they did not shut the blinds I also enjoyed its 
pleasure, and still more the reflected joy on the faces of the human 
beings. 

"The first rays of sunshine in the following spring fell on a little 
golden head that bobbed up at the window across the way. On mild 
days the child's buggy stood on the balcony, and often the parents 
bent over and admired their wonderful little one." 

"Aha !" interrupted the friend, smiling, "and the 'little wonder' 
probably grew up into an unbearable little terror and drove you from 
the residence by his noise." 

The pale man shook his head. "Listen further, if you care. 
When the child was about three months old it fell seriously ill. I saw 
it by every token. The little buggy stood no more on the balcony, 
and the doctor came daily. The husband looked worried when he 
left the house, and the wife pale and worn. The laughter with which 
she greeted and followed him was oppressed and blended with pain. 
She did not discontinue her accustomed farewell greeting, but she 
would leave the window more quickly than before — finally the greet- 
ings were forgotten and I took it as a bad indication, and — soon I 
understood that across the way Death had entered. 

<<* * * Imagine my dismay when, instead of a little child's 
hearse, a large one was borne from the house, and the man, as one 
stricken, walked behind it. He buried wife and child on the same 
day." 

"Ah ! Now I know why you moved away. You could not bear 
to have before your eyes the place where such a bliss had been de- 
stroyed.." 

"Have you patience to listen further?" asked the pale man. 

'<* ;i. * ^/^y. gympathy for the husband was, perhaps, deeper 
than that of his many relatives and friends who came to console him, 
for none of them knew as well as I, the stranger, did, the happiness 
which had been destroyed. Yes, it was even more than sympathy, 
it was almost as if I had personally lost wife and child, so sincerely 
had my feelings interwoven themselves in the life of these people. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 119 



It had become such a pleasant habit of mine to see, as I looked up 
from my work, the beautiful, graceful woman who had reigned across 
the way. I still believes she MUST again appear at the window in 
her cheerful dress. IT COULD NOT be forever past and gone ! 

"The young widower appeared so grief-stricken and agonized that 
at first I despaired of his life. It seemed natural to me that one 
who had lost the best of earthly joy could not continue to live. When 
I reflected what I, the spectator, had suffered, what then must he 
who had possessed it all? I marveled that he remained in the dwell- 
ing. I judged it would be unbearable to live in quarters where a 
joy that once existed has vanished and where everything reminds one 
of one's loss. But people see things differently. Perhaps this very 
memory held him to the place. 

"In time he became more resigned and began to improve in ap- 
pearance — relatives visited him frequently — also ladies. * * * fn 
the spring " 

«* * * j^g married again?" remarked the friend, inquiringly. 

"You have guessed it," said the pale man, sm.iling plaintively. 
"That must be easy to guess, to one who is acquainted with the 
way of the world." 

"It is natural," said the friend. "Would you have a young man 
content himself for his whole lifetime with the memory of one year 
of wedded bliss?" 

"No, no," said the pale man, hastily. "My common sense did 
not reproach him. It was, of course, right and natural that he did 
remarry before he again accustomed himself to the unrestricted, 
reckless life of his bachelor friends. If the man had moved away, and 
I had casually heard that he had shortly afterward remarried, I would 
perhaps have said : 'I can hardly blame the poor fellow.' Whoever 
has tasted the sweetness of life in union with another will hardly 
again endure its single incompleteness. I did not blame the man, but 
— I could not bear to see before my eyes each day how, at every point, 
a drama was being repeated just as I had seen it once before — except 
that someone else was now playing the leading role. 

"The second wife was young and attractive, perhaps more so 
than the first one, and she loved the man, and he loved her. She 
conducted the household industriously and capably with a new, little 
ruddy-cheeked domestic (for during his bereavement he had had an 
elderly housekeeper), and in the evening the young married pair sat 
on the balcony tenderly together, or he played on the piano and she 
stood behind him or looked up to the stars. * * * 

"Only in one respect did she not resemble the first wife. She 
did not look after him as long when he left, nor wait as long for him 
at the window until he came. She was too practical and active. At 
Christmas, a tree illuminated the room. In the spring the baby 
buggy stood on the balcony and the parents leaned over and stared 
in loving ecstasy over another little golden-haired head." 

"Well, so you again had something pleasing to see," said his 
friend. "Everything was again just as before." 



120 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



"That is just it," said the pale man bitterly. "It was everything 
just as before — only one individual had been supplanted by another — 
oh, I cannot explain to you what a pathos and profound emotion 
overcame me, when, from force of habit, I glanced across and saw 
the same picture that I had once seen before ! I would rub my eyes 
and shake my head as one who had dreamed and could not separate 
the dream from the reality. What are we, anyway? I would ask 
myself. Waves of the sea, each one driven forward by the following 
one, and no one leaving any trace behind ! Everything repeats itself 
— circumstances, conditions — only human beings disappear and are 
replaced. 

"Then a gradual distaste to see this family bliss which, before, 
I had envied, began to grow in me. Later I saw that this very envy 
or jealousy was a selfish one. I dreaded that which people call 
'love,' and which seemed to be but a clinging to comfortable sur- 
roundings and agreeable things, dependent on accidental circumstances 
which apparently ignore entirely the true individual self. I could 
readily picture this man grieving over the death of this second wife 
and shortly afterward finding himself supremely happy with a third 
one. What does one human being signify to another?" 

"What would you have?" said his friend. "If human beings did 
not possess the faculty of adapting themselves, and to a degree, also, 
forgetting, how could they live through life at all?" 

"You are right," said the pale man. "He who has not the power 
to renounce shall also not possess. It is, perhaps, a profound wisdom 
and kind intention of fate that it has denied me the conjugal bliss 
when I reflect how I have grieved over the wife of one who was no 
kin to me. 

"I know that you will consider me a fool, but now you know 
why I cannot remain in my old house, and why I must seek a new one 
• — for a few years — for a few years !" 





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COMMENT 

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POLITICS FOR PROFIT. 




The time being about here for the ripening of political plums, 
the Jewish community is again afflicted with the formation of so- 
called "Hebrew Republican" and "Jewish Democratic" clubs. 

It is the almost universal opinion that political clubs that profess 
to possess any influence with the Jew as a voter are formed, based 
on and organized with the distinct view to securing the spoils of 
public office rather than the promotion of the public welfare. On 
innumerable occasions it has been stated, and is here repeated, that 
there is no "Jewish vote" in that sense which the uninformed politician 
or candidate is duped into believing by the clubs. 

It is one of the ills of our free country that men whose responsi- 
bility may seriously be questioned, can organize and use the good 
name of a religious body for private, personal or pecuniary interests. 

We would be glad to believe that there are other motives at the 
bottom of these mushroom organizations that so strangely come into 
existence just about the time when political campaigns open, but 
the evidence and the facts as well as the reputation of some of the 
participants are decidedly against such an interpretation of purpose. 

We may not be able to interfere with the organization of ques- 
tionable bodies but in representing a considerable number of our 
Jewish people, we wish to enlighten non-Jewish fellow citizens who 
profess to be political leaders, that to place any stock or faith in the 
pledges or promises of any individuals who profess to be able to 
bring them the votes of Jewish citizens, is rankest folly. 

The Jew as a citizen is governed solely by the value and merits 
of the respective candidates. The Jew is found in the ranks of every 
party. When he votes he does not vote as a Jew, but as a citizen 
and any attempt to distort this fact and to make politicians believe 
that Jews can be organized in clubs and their votes handed over by 
self-appointed and self-seeking nobodies, is such a barefaced game of 
bunco that it must create astonishment and surprise that the so-called 
"wily political leaders" can allow themselves to be imposed upon. 



122 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



JEWISH OUTRAGES 



(The following resolutions were adopted at a mass meeting, which 
gathered to protest the anti-Jewish outrage in the Ukraine. The res- 
olutions were prepared by the Editor of "The Modern View" at the 
special request of the Committee of Arrangements:) 



WHEREAS, The daily reports received from the Ukraine of 
heart-rending outrages committed against the Jewish people of that 
country, of murder, pillage, violence and destruction of every kind 
that beggar description — a merciless attempt to annihilate an entire 
body of inoffensive old men, women and children — homes destroyed, 
shops wrecked, human being ravished, burned, shot and maimed for 
life ; and, 

^^TIEREAS, This fearful state of affairs threatens the very 
existence of the entire Jewish population of the Ukraine, and, 

WHEREAS, Since the armistice, when peace was supposed to 
prevail, there have been continuous "pogroms" against the Jewish 
people of unprecedented severity and horror in the Ukraine, the adja- 
cent territory and South Russia; 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the representa- 
tives of the Jewish people of St. Louis in mass meeting assembled, 
do passionately declare and solemnly avow that, being filled with the 
A-merican spirit of justice and brotherhood active in 3,000,000 Jewish 
people in America, do assert and insist that this awful condition across 
the seas is repellant to every principle and practice of civilization and 
humanity; 

THEREFORE, We, as Americans, irrespective of religious de- 
nomination, condemn with all the might and emphasis of which we 
are capable, those who are responsible for these damnable outrages 
and the intolerable state of affairs which keeps the Jewish people of 
these countries in perpetual fright and horror ; 

NOW, THEREFORE, We appeal to the conscience of America 
that the government of these United States should co-operate with 
the other civilized nations of the world to put an immediate stop to 
these bestial persecutions and attacks. We ask that our government 
give expression to the voice of public opinion which denounces these 
open violations of every conception of democracy, brotherhood and 
humanity. We ask that an immediate check be placed upon this state 
of savagery insofar as our government, through its powerful influence, 
can bring about the ending of these horrors and the terrible condition 
of our fellowmen in the Ukraine and other parts of Russia. 

RESOLVED, That a committee, to be duly selected, shall, with 
all due dispatch, respectfully submit this resolution, together with all 
available data appertaining to these matters, to the President of the 
LTnited States, to the Department of State, and to the Senators and 
Conjrrcssmen of the State of Missouri. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 123 



INTERMARRIAGE. 



Marriage is always a debatable question. Intermarriage more 
so. One can readily decry intermarriage on the part of religion. It 
is easy to excuse it on the score of the supremacy of love. 

The standpoint and point of view is everything. Do we consider 
love and emotion supreme? Then no match is remarkable; for love, 
as it is called, is enigmatic and mysterious in the choice of its affec- 
tion. At least one must judge so, viewing some combinations that 
we see. 

If again we consider racial distinction, or family perpetuation as 
the superior object of life, then an infraction of its rigid exclusiveness 
is a violation of a law. 

Is it personal bliss we consider? Then we may well be unde- 
cided. 

With all our desire to be broad of mind, we feel that it does 
require. two exceptionally strong characters and a vital mutual affinity 
to preserve the flame of joy and peace in the intermarried home. 

But that intermarriages are entirely subversive of happiness and 
good is incorrect. 

There are many instances of reasonably joyous matches, whose 
chief actors are (or were) of different faiths. 

The present development of different denominations is hardly 
xipe for free and unrestricted intermarriage. 

Men and women must first progress to a better appreciation of 
each other and their faiths before individuals of diverse religious convic- 
tions may risk their future welfare and that of the beliefs by marital 
unions. 



IN REGARD TO DIETARY LAWS. 



"Kosher" is the Hebrew term for "fit" or "proper," as against 
"terefah"— "forbidden." 

The specified forbidden diet, such as swine, carnivorous beasts. 
etc., among Jews (attributed to Moses), has an ancient origin. Mod- 
ern scholars now ascribe the prohibitions to various causes — not re- 
ligion, but hygienic, psychological and related to the long past con- 
ditions when animal sacrifice was a priestly custom in Palestine. 

The reform Jews do not observe the dietary laws — believing there 
is no direct relation between food and the moral life. The stomach 
and the soul are independent. 

Yet even the most careless or indifferent can understand and 
appreciate the psychological and pathological value of providing for 
orthodox Jewish sick-poor such hospital diet as will not violate their 
conscience and retard their recovery. There is no inconsistency in a 
modern Jewish view that has passed beyond any religious veneration 
for dietary laws, and yet feels keenly and warmly the importance 
and need of the sick-poor who have the traditional attachment. 



124 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE UNEMPLOYED MAN. 



In those three words — the unemployed man — all possible evils 
are potent. They spell suffering, bitterness, despondency and des- 
peration. "The unemployed man" is the real menace of civil peace 
and social progress. 

Whether he be unemployed by choice or by the force of circum- 
stances does not mitigate the matter. 

Men must work. If they shun it, they must be forced to work 
or else denied the means of sustenance. If they seek work it must 
be found for them. Opportunity to work must be provided. 

Men unemployed form the most favorable readiest material for 
evil and for ill. The Jewish man or woman who aids "the unem- 
ployed man" to become a worker transforms a barren winter into 
spring and transmutes a dull leaden load to one of golden gratitude. 
What can you do for the unemployed man? 



LIBERTY. 

There is a grave truth in the statement that intelligence as well 
as vigilance is a requirement and element that should accompany a 
genuine liberty and freedom. But how can there be a development 
of mind and spirit except under free and liberal institutions? Surely 
under the repression of a Pharaoh or a Czar the necessary requisites 
for an appreciation of freedom and proper valuation of it cannot be 
acquired. 

The cynics maintain that a people who have been in slavery and 
oppressed cannot become self-governing. The wandering in the desert 
of the Jewish people for so many years after their release from Egypt is 
interpreted by the pessimist as due to the fact that, having been slaves 
in Egypt, Moses could not conceive them as being qualified to rule them- 
selves, and an interval was necessary during which the generation that 
had been slaves could die away. 

While the sudden gift of liberty is intoxicating and apt to develop 
into license, it soon assumes a normal phase, wherein wise leadership 
and sanity get control. For a time, folly and confusion may prevail, 
but, by some natural process, things gradually fall into an orderly ar- 
rangement and a new system of ideals and machinery of government 
takes the pilot wheel. The only danger that exists is that in the new 
form of government such rigidity should become the fashion that the in- 
dividual loses his direct interest and persistent watchfulness, letting 
it get into a rut and rottenness instead of guarding it as he would a 
precious garden, weeding out the destructive plants and keeping bloom- 
ing, fresh and flourishing, the everlasting beautiful blossoms of liberty, 
equality and fraternity. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 125 



PEACE. 



Peace is the individual sense of full security in the life-pursuit 
of happiness. Peace is the tranquil personal state, where all the just 
needs of today and of tomorrow are assured. Peace is the confidence 
that bigotry, intolerance, race hatred and religious prejudice, — those 
awful demons that delight in evil, — are, if not dead, at least fast 
leashed in reins of impotence, by justice, law and fellowship. 

Peace is the noble spirit that finds its joy in fostering the good 
of the community, the nation and the neighbor. 

Peace is the password of Israel. It is the symbol of the highest 
life — the nearest possible approach to the Divine. 

Under Peace — progress is possible. With Peace — the infinite 
seems near. 

With Peace as the protector of mortals, mankind's god-like 
powers grow — his harvests thrive. Death loses half its terror in the 
happiness of having lived through life in harmony and brotherhood ! 

War perhaps must be — but blessed Peace is ever welcome. Never 
was it welcome more than now. 

May no new differences between man and man, nation and nation, 
ever strike it down ! 



FAVORED FEBRUARY. 



February has not only the distinguished characteristic of being 
the shortest month of the year, but of having in its limited days the 
birth of anniversaries of our two most noble and immortal sons. 

A Jewish journal can never express too great a reverence or ap- 
preciation of either of our deathless souls of the Republic. 

The Jewish congregation or rabbi can never too frequently or too 
sincerely dwell on the merits and achievements of the two glorious 
lives, whose commencement favored February enshrines. 

In the light of the history of the Jew, his trials and his persecu- 
tions, the brightest spot, his hope of refuge, is America. 

Conceive, if we can, the fate of the Jew if there had been no 
America, no Washington nor Lincoln ! 

An interesting suggestion indeed for discussion and conjecture ! 

We fear that there would have been but a record of added horror 
and profounder grief to chronicle, than is already written on the 
blood-stained and unjust pages of the history of the nations of the 
old world. 

Well indeed may we revere their memories who respectively 
founded and saved the country that has been the salvation of our 
people, and that gave light and hope when all else was wrapped in 
infernal gloom and darkness ! 



126 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



WISDOM. 



To the developed Jewish mind nothing is unimportant or trivial and 
nothing too exalted to deserve reflection and attempt at understanding. 
It is by the exercise of reason, combined with feeling, that we grow and 
that our civilization prospers. 

The problem is to choose the highest wisdom from the multitudi 
nous counsel. It is as much the test of a capable mind and of a high 
character to know WHAT knowledge to accept and WHAT advice to 
assimilate as to give out knowledge or advice. It is said that "he who 
can take the best advice is sometimes superior to him who can give it." 
There is much truth in this maxim. 

All the sermons or the preachments ever uttered can have but little 
force unless they find acceptance and expression in those who listen to 
them. 

SATAN IN THE SADDLE. 



(Before America Entered the War.) 

"What fools these mortals be." 

If there is an Evil One, variously known as Satan, Mephisto or 
ihe Devil, his sides must ache with laughter and his glee must be 
unbounded to see the wretched war-folly of the European nations. 

With no ethical or moral principle involved, the Devil's hand- 
m.aidens — Greed, Distrust and Prejudice— have transformed a continent 
where civilization "seemed" to reign, into an arena wherein twenty 
millions of men are arrayed against each other, bent on their mutual 
destruction and extermination, with all the incidental miser}^ and 
mourning that their fate must mean to many millions more of sad, 
dependent women and children. 

It is well that we cannot definitely fix the blame on any one 
human individual for this fearful situation. Such a responsibility 
would be too great for any human head to bear. 

It is only to be attributed to a general lack of moral understanding 
and a failure to truly comprehend or follow the spirit and the teach- 
ings of the Christ they profess. It is a surrender to the lower gratifica- 
tions of ambition, power and envy and in every way a complete yield- 
ing of the better qualities of man to the worst within him. 

There is not a redeeming feature in the spectacle. While, as 
Americans, we may feel a gratification to be outside the miserable 
affair, our broader feelings, as human beings of one brotherhood of 
humanity, must recognize the stupendous folly and make us wonder, 
whether we as Americans are exempt from the insanity of madness 
which could so fearfully and suddenly embrace within its talons the 
so-called civilized nations of the globe ! 

Satan is surely in the saddle, and what a pace he is driving with 
his whip of War ! 

May the Devil's gallop be brief, and may he fall soon and break 
his evil neck ! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 127 



SIN. 



Sin is a broad term. Sin has many interpretations. A man who will 
not kill might steal. A man who would not steal might lie. A man who 
might not lie might use the name of God in vain. A man might dese- 
crate the Sabbath day, yet not commit adultery. 

There is a truth to the sa3''ing that "there's nothing right or wrong, 
but thinking makes it so." Whose thinking? One's own thinking or 
that of the generation in which one lives, or that of the past? A viola- 
tion of a religious ceremonial is to some a "sin." To others hypocritical 
observance of mere forms is sin. 

It would be easy to confuse oneself on the subject of sin. It is 
easy to reason oneself into wrong, if our passions or desires crave the 
wrong. 

It may be true that what is right to one is wrong to others. That 
could be proven. In the general sense, however, sin is clearly the trans- 
gression of selfishness over the good of others — the disregard of other 
people's welfare for our own. 

Sin may be the trampling down of the better part of one's own self, 
in favor of the worser part and lower passions in us. 

What we call "conscience," or the "still' small voice," our in- 
telligence usually informs us. We know our sins — even if others do 
not. Are we strong enough to acknowledge them — to conquer them? 



TWO SHIPS. 



Before our mental vision, we see just now two, both borne on 
the billows of the same blue seas, but oh! so different in their mis- 
sions. 

One is a proud and costly battleship armored with steel, its 
decks frowning with 12-inch guns mounted threateningly on every 
side. Like a savage genie or herculean tyrant, conscious of his 
power, the "Super-dreadnaught" sails along, bent on its death-dealing 
errand of destruction. The object of its life is to decimate and devas- 
tate, to wreck, destroy and ruin. All its elaborate mechanism, 
beauty, strength and power is for intimidation and for violence. 
How shall we salute this dreadful maritime monster of mortal mak- 
ing? 

The other ship before our mind is but a "collier," the "Vulcan" 
of the United States. It sailed away from the United States on 
March 16th, loaded with flour and provisions for relief of suffering 
humanity in Palestine — Jews, Moslems, Christians. 

Jewish people had filled its hold with the welcome necessities 
for the starving sufferers of a distant land, so far away, but not so 
far away that its anguished cry of distress cannot be heard. 

Jewish men are on this ship who will see to the proper distribu- 
tion of the ship's life-giving and woe-lessening cargo. How shall 
we bless such a ship? 

Thus we see the incongruity of life. One ship sails the seas to 



128 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



bring great misery, to scatter iron hail of death. Another passes 
o'er the pathway of the heaving waves, to bring rehef and succor, 
aid and gladness to the desperately distressed. 

Both ships are the product of human hands. 

One is the result of human hate and fear — the other the expression 
of human iove and sympathy. 

Let pessimists and optimists remember what the two ships tell of 
human hate and love. 



THE STAGE JEW. 

We confess to not liking the stage Jew — irrespective of his 
delineation by this or that well advertised actor. 

The stage Jew is usually of a type that is either grossly exag- 
gerated in eccentricity and failings — or if veracious is selected from 
the foreign type of Jew, but recently Americanized with all the inci- 
dental idiosyncrasies of gestures and of language. 

The stage Jew may serve- to raise a fleeting laugh, but he con- 
veys to the non-Jew an undesirable conception of all Jews. There 
is nothing to be commended or admired in the average stage type 
of Jew. He should be banished from the boards. 



PATIENCE WORTH. 

The question of the psychic and the occult is receiving consid- 
erable local publicity through a "manifestation" that is called "Pa- 
tience Worth," and which is being treated seriously by many other- 
wise acute, well-balanced minds. Shall we have "patience" with 
such matters? Is it "worth" the while? 

We find so much for the mind in the things that are within our 
power of understanding, that we prefer not to let thought be diverted 
to a field that which most sane folk think to be beyond the privilege 
of mortal minds to comprehend. 

We need not sneer or ridicule or doubt, but we should not arouse 
an interest in that which judgment and sanity advise us relates to 
matter that is far beyond our ken. 

It may be true that we do speculate on subjects that are not 
provable and that we believe some things that others cannot accept 
as such because they deal with the invisible and the unknown. That 
is faith and we calmly admit it is unprovable. 

Faith is belief. It does not seek to prove it. We take on faith 
what we believe not what we can demonstrate. 

Fascinating as the subject in the spirit world or a life after death 
may be, is not the realm of effort in the daily life that we are now 
living and its demands sufficient to occupy every iota of our thought 
and action? 

Why should we permit ourselves to be led into tangled paths 
of research and of delving into confused labyrinths and mazes of 
effort when our inner consciousness says that a wall, beyond which 
and over which we cannot peer, stands at the end of such a journey's 
endeavor? 





CHARITY 
(From the Painting by Bougereau) 



THE BASIS OF GIVING. 



The fact is that most people give without thinking or without an)- 
basis or standard whatsoever. The average giver, who may be spontane- 
ously generous, sometimes gives more than his means justify. On the 
other hand (and we fear that this is perhaps the majority rule), others 
give disproportionately less than their means should dictate. We believe 
that but few people consider the amount that any cause requires and 
then measure the proportion of their substance with the total sum that 
is needed in order to give m the ratio that the one bears to the other. 

Yet this is claimed to be the true and correct basis on which giving 
should be founded. The olden Jewish arrangement was that a man 
should give a tenth of his earnings to charity. The calls and demands of 
modern life are so complex and various that such a rule could hardly 
hold today because each day a new cause is added to the old for our 
support. People also make their money differently. Suppose one man 
gained his gold dishonestly? 

Most people gauge their giving without any standard. If there is 
any in their mind, it is w4iat "Mr. So and So" gives that fixes their dona- 
tion. Thus if some very wealthy man gives less than he should they give 
correspondingly less on the theory that if he is so much wealthier he 
should give more and they proportionately less ! 

Another set of people look for the name of someone whom they re- 
gard as in their social scale or business class and follow suit, even though 
(as is too often the sad case), the other giver in their class may give too 
little. 

It thus becomes an important matter to see that the first subscriber 
to a cause should give the right amount, because, next to the fact that 
most people give as little as they can the criterion and basis of their giv- 
ing is measured by what the others of their social stratum have sub- 
scribed. 




THE DELUGE 
(From the Painting by Dore) 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 129 

TWO KINDS OF LEADERS. 



In every community there are usually two kinds of leaders — those 
of movements and those of money. 

Ideas, by some unhappy arrangement of fate, originate and are 
agitated by leaders rich in vision but, coincidently, poor in purse. 

Fortunately, as a rule, after a fitting period of struggle, privation 
and probation, the moneyed leaders lend a hand and an alliance of 
the twin leadership begins, with benefit to the cause or institution that 
is involved. 

The rank of a community and its claim to respect is to be meas- 
ured by the degree to which the two elements of leadership co-operate. 
If the intelligent men had money or the monied men always had in- 
telligence — there would not be this problem. 



AT THE SUMMER RESORT. 



It is particularly in the capacity of a pleasure seeker and summer 
resorter, that the few, more than any class, can nowadays create re- 
spect or the reverse in the critical and not always impartial non- 
Jewish mind. 

It is by what seem trifles in behavior or conduct that liking or 
aversion is fixed for us or against us and our people at such places. 

A loud, noisy demeanor, a lack of polish or a quiet refinement, 
an ostentatious display of diamonds or dress, will do more to implant 
dislike or produce unfavorable comment than real or actual faults. 

"Truly (we hear some protest), "you would not have us walk 
about in funeral garb, speak in hushed whispers, or stand in feir and 
trembling where we pay our money just as others do?" 

Not so. But there is a way of enjoying the summer's pleasure 
that is hearty without being boisterous. There is a way of dressing 
to advantage without displaying all the vagaries of the modiste or 
the complex stock of the department store upon one's back. 

There is a dignified, natural way of appreciating things, and a 
rude and unrestrained indulgence. 

It is the latter that causes trouble. It is the disregard on the 
part of some of our people for the finer sensibilities combined with 
the natural flaw-seeking and fault-finding disposition of some non- 
Jews that makes for the general ill-will of which we hear so much 
occasionally. 

Let those so fortunate as to be granted the privilege and pleasure 
of a summer outing, so utilize that it add to our strength and hap- 
piness — and to the good, not the bad, name of the Jewish people as 
a whole. 




130 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 
TUMBLED TOMBSTONES. 



If one goes with the burden of a recent bereavement weighing 
heavily upon the mind, the mind is concentrated on that grief alone. 
To those whom Time (that softener of sorrow and weakener of woe), 
has enabled the bereaved to bear the fate that nature has in store for 
all of us — the cemetery is a place where sleep and serious reflections 
must come to the most unobservant or unthinking. 

To the most careless, a thing that impels thoughts is the sight 
of a tumbled tombstone or two such as were lately seen in one of our 
Jewish cemeteries. 

We are not bent on bitterness or criticism as we mention this, 
for we do not know where the blame lies under the elaborate system 
of regulations that govern cemeteries and burials nowadays. 

We only note that it is neither creditable to the family nor to the 
cemetery, nor to the Jewish name to see such sights in a well-ordered 
burial place, where every effort should be exerted to not offend the 
sentiment or emotions. 

We hardly care to go into a discussion of whether those beneath 
the tombstone know or care if the stone has tumbled and lays neg- 
lected over the grave, but those who pass it, if they be sensitive, are 
pained, and deplore the disregard of respect, or if not respect, at least 
of mere appearance. 

A tumbled tombstone is a jarring note in the peace and tranquility 
that pervades the place of peace, where everything should conduct to 
hopeful reverie, if that is possible. 

As a poor brother in actual life who has fallen should be raised, 
so even a tumbled tombstone should be set erect, thouerh it may not 
seem to count. 

Some provision to prevent the inference of neglect (or worse) 
that such a sight implies should ever be a part of cemetery regulation 
for the sake of all. 



RICHES. 

How pitiably poor are those rich people who unconscious of the real 
value of the money (that possesses them) expend it on empty things of 
life when opportunities for real and substantial enjoyment of their money 
lie around them on every hand in the hundred channels of providing 
light, sunshine, comfort and joy, education and relief to those footballs 
of fortune, the flotsam and jetsam of humanity, to whom these rights and 
pleasures are denied ! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 131 

OLD CLOTHES. 



That "all mankind's concern is charity" how'er "in faith and hope 
mankind may disagree" was proven by the joint call of Catholic, 
Protestant and Jew for aid for the needy during an exceptional cold 
spell, wherein the poor were suffering. Give ! 

Wagons collecting old clothes, etc., made the rounds and 
gathered in all the available supplies to help tide over the dire ex- 
tremity. Every one should aid, and everyone surely will. Hearts 
are not below zero. 

We can trust the generous human heart and the kindly giving 
hand, when Boreas blows and the destitute freeze. We feel the 
fury though we may not suffer it and "a fellow feeling makes us 
wondrous kind." Give ! 

But as we give out the old clothes, etc., let us not pat ourselves 
on the back (where these old clothes perhaps once were) and expand 
our chests in prideful satisfaction. 

It is a sorry comment at best that such methods as collecting 
old clothes from door to door are imperative in a period presumably 
civilized and advanced. Civilized ! 

To the thinker, and to those who are laboring for social progress, 
collecting old clothes for shivering multitudes of miserably unprO" 
tected men, women and children in a land of plenty (and of progress?) 
is an indication that we still wear the old clothes of an ill-fitting 
social system that cannot or will not be adjusted to the modern needs. 

Think a moment ! 

Archbishops, princes of finance, captains of industry, political 
chiefs, pleading for old clothes for the poor ! 

The poor people are surely not all the self-cause of their distress. 
The majority probably never had a chance in life. Why not? Sim- 
ply because we follow "old clothes" ideas in philanthropy. The 
causes of woe remain. 

If all the old clothes in the world were collected and sold and 
the proceeds devoted to trade-education or eradicating plagues, pests 
and unsanitary conditions, — if the wealthy were enabled to gain 
wealth by only moraF'^ (not legally) legitimate means — would there 
be need of the sorry sight of wagons placarded with a plea for poor 
distressed and starving fellowmen? Not by half. 

Sick at heart we feel as we look on them, to think that all the 
gathered intelligence, all the preachments, all the religion (?), all the 
philosophy of thousands of centuries still leaves such action as a 
necessary step. 

Give — Give — Give — but as you give, give thought also to condi- 
tions that make such giving necessary. 



132 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE PERSPECTIVE OF PROGRESS. 



It is singular to the thoughtful-minded, how, with the growth 
of time and development, symbols and ceremonies lose their import- 
ance, while the significance of these same symbols and ceremonies 
increase in power and importance. 

This comes home with peculiar force on the recurrence of any 
of the important feasts or established festivals that relate to various 
faiths. We see it in the attempt of our non-Jewish brethren of de- 
veloped mind, who fail to accept literally the physical resurrection of 
their Savior, but instead interpret Easter as the resurrection of Na- 
ture, the rebirth of Spring, or a spiritual awakening from material 
things. 

The same is true of the Jewish Passover. 

Only the superficial and simple minded will sneer at the Seder 
services, or mock the good purposes of the ancient festivals as ex- 
pressed in their ceremonies and symbols. Neverthless, it is evident 
that these observations of ceremonies are on the decrease in America. 
This lessening of stress on forms is true as much of non-Jewish as 
Jewish devotees. 

It would be hasty to infer from this that the faiths are lessening 
in their hold upon us. 

As stated in the opening sentence of this article, the principles and 
the significances which underHe the special days, set apart for this 
or that remembrance, come home to those who think with just that 
much stronger and more vital force as the emphasis placed upon 
the forms and ceremonies fade. 

The perspective of progress simply transposes the accent and 
^emphasis from the forms to the meaning of the forms, and it not only 
,refuses to be content with a petty interpretation of a part of any cere- 
mony, but insists upon looking upon the particular special days in 
their broadest and most natural human interpretation. 

It is almost possible to define every religious festival, holiday or 
holy day, by a single word expressive of the principle that particular 
day. 

By the perspective of progress the Passover festival of the Jew 
becomes a joyful synonym for Liberty, and Easter to the non-Jew as 
the rebirth of Nature. 

With such natural interpretations it becomes not only easy, but 
pleasant, to join in the rejoicing. It is certain that with the passing 
fof the years the importance of the ceremonies will lessen, and not to 
the detriment of the denominations, for the objects and purposes for 
which the institutions were established will be more clearly in the 
foreground. And be taken for their worth as such. 

We conceive the institution of religious festivals as intended for 
ythe best good of humanity. While to many they mark the arbitrary dis- 
tinctions between man and man and interfere with that common 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 133 



fraternization for which the lovers of mankind hope, yet the per- 
spective of progress hopes to see in these very festivals the media that 
shall bring about an ultimate understanding. The principles and 
cravings of our human nature are very much the same, regardless 
of our faiths, and reduced to their simplest factors, all religions desire 
the same of us if we can look through their ceremonies and their m- 
stitutions — namely, to be our best, and to live it. 



LIFE'S SEAMY SIDE. 



The editor has been serving this week as a juror in our Court 
of Criminal Correction under Judge Taylor. 

This fits in singularly at a time when we are holding in our city a 
Conference of Charities and Corrections. 

In the criminal courts of the land are to be found in their con- 
crete misery and substantial sorrow, all the evils of our time exem- 
plified in person, all the problems of charity and correction. 

The harlot, the thief, the vagrant, the murderer, the perjurer, 
the malefactor, the deserter, the ravisher, the incendiary — every 
species of the weak and vicious, may be here seen in their grim 
reality. 

The penalties are meted out. The wheels revolve and like coffee 
beans, the creatures are ground in the mortal mill of justice. 

As one views the ceaseless procession of criminality, the ques- 
tion propounds itself repeatedly: "Must these things be?" Must 
there be these wrecks and pirate craft on the human sea? Is it 
beyond the reach and power of human agency to alter this? 

We turn to a fellow juror with the query and he says : "No. 
Human nature can't be changed. You cannot alter this until you 
can change human nature." 

We sigh in honest and profoundest grief. And then — then we 
turn our thought to workers and students of social conditions, such 
hundreds that we know. We see the concrete work of their 
hands that has already reduced the sum of crime by changing, not 
human nature, but human surroundings, removing the temptations, 
placing the better environment around the weak, feeding the finer 
impulses of the neglected young who would have drifted to perdition 
— and we nearly rise up in our juror's seat to cry out : No, not for- 
ever will this be. The better, higher humanity must come when all 
this misery shall be ended — and by the wider prevalence of social 
justice, education and compassion — peace will be instead of hate — 
love of kind instead of kilHng of the soul and body, and practice and 
understanding of the right will rule instead of moral turpitude and 
death ! 



134 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



HOW JEWISH MEN GIVE. 



How often has the Jew been libeled and plundered as greedy and 
avaricious ? 

Within a month two Jewish men of means disposed of their 
millions in such a generous fashion as to be almost incredible. 

The one was Herman Simon, of Easton, Pa., who left nearly 
four million dollars to his employes. 

The other was Benjamin Altman of New York, who left his entire 
art collection valued at fifteen million dollars, to the Metropolitan 
Museum of Art and also one hundred thousand dollars to the Na- 
tional Academy of Design for the advancement of art in the United 
States ; $100,000 to the Mount Sinai Hospital ; $50,000 to the Educa- 
tional Alliance to be devoted to such departments of work as the di- 
rectors may determine; $25,000 each to St. Luke's Hospital, the Ger- 
man Hospital, the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and the Lincoln 
Hospital and Home in the Bronx. Fifty thousand dollars is given to 
the Mutual Benefit Association of the employes of B. Altman and 
Company. A large number of bequests are given to employes of 
the firm. 

Both these men were Jews and their magnificent munificence is 
yet to be paralleled by any non-Jewish American millionaires. 

In the last testaments of Morgan, Harriman and others we fail 
^o note a gift of any such proportions to the cause of art, of charity, 
or recognition of the welfare of the workman. 

Yet there are two men of the Jewish people, a people despised, 
maligned, misunderstood, mistreated, who devise and bequeath their 
princely possessions to the good of mankind, to add to the beauty of 
the public's art possessions, and to the welfare of humble workers. 

Though we may have in our Jewish ranks the tricksters and the 
avaricious, does not one Simon and Altman overbalance and out- 
weigh a thousand of the other petty and pernicious ones, who may in 
the rapacious race for wealth, forget or fail to live up to the noble 
faith that they profess? 

We feel a joyful satisfaction when a Jewish man brings honor 
to the Jev;ish people. Equally we feel a corresponding depression and 
sorrow where a Jewish man degrates or tarnishes the Jewish record. 

Of one thing we feel most secure, that if the proper estimate 
were made the good done by the Jewish people and by individual 
Jews must far exceed the measure of the acts of ill that the less 
worthy of our people may perform. 

Such instances as Altman and of Simon justify our hope and 
our belief and we take a particular delight in chronicling their good 
deeds in our record of events. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 135 



THE COWARDICE OF SUICIDE. 



(Written when a young friend ended his own Ufe.) 



We said suicide was cowardice. "Is suicide a sin" is not the subject 
of discussion. 

On reflection we find our conviction even more strongly set — that to 
commit self-murder is cravenly and cowardly. 

Most mortals, from what we know, (plus that which we do not but 
which develops now and then), have more or less of tribulation in life's 
jowrney. 

Povetry, neglect discord, failure, disappointment and disease, the 
thousand and one "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," hit us all 
and leave their gaping wounds in every heart. The ceaseless fusillade of 
sin and sorrow misses no one, and no chain armor of money or position is 
proof against the unfagging bombardment that robs us day by day of joys 
and all the things of life we crave. 

Clive's self-destruction was an act of cowardice; if not that, it was 
the act of selfish, wounded pride, or a diseased spirit affected by the 
Indian climate. Lord Clive, though physically brave as the conqueror 
of India, was faint-hearted when he committed felo-de-se, and thereby 
gratified and gave the air of guilt to a verdict of vindictive enemies. 

Where was his faith in his own innocence, in his consciousness of 
their in-justce? Were these not sufficiently strong to have enabled him 
to have borne the calumnies of jealous little minds, the like of which 
successful men must meet in every age and land? 

Achilles sulked in his tent and refused to fight because the beauti- 
ful Briseis was withheld from him. 

So G * * * declined to battle further in the contest with wrong 
and sorrow, because Fate withheld from him that which he considered 
as essential to his happiness. On this theory we all may shorten our short 
lives because this or that evil has befallen us, or because we have not 
been granted the expectations of our hearths, for who has not some hope 
unrealized, some wish ungranted, and some unkindness experienced ? 

See the unhappy millionaire yearning vainly for a billon. Note with 
pity the forlon Alexander longing for more worlds to conquer. Observe 
the sad lot of the gian with carriage and pair wistfully but vainly wish- 
ing for a high-speed automobile. Even the rich and great are not all 
happy. 

Despairing G * * * compares compressing prison walls, that 
close on men, to the gloomy thoughts that encompass the de- 
spondent. 

Yes, our false thoughts and exaggerated views of trouble and of 
life (if we let them), can make such a prison house of our poor prob- 
lems. If we permit weakness to prevail, our troubles naturally assume 



136 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



the proportions of the Genii escaped from the bottle of the fisherman in 
The Arabian Nights. 

But, like that same affrighted fisherman, bottle up the demon of 
despair in the flask of your fortitude, your self-reUance or your faith 
in God, or turn your efforts to labors for human betterment, and 
the bogus monster becomes so dwarfed that you safely laugh at his 
impotent fuming and throw him into the sea of forgetfulness in the 
diversion of your mind with better things. 

We dare not let ourselves dwell on our ills, for that way madness 
lies. We must efface our sorrows by faith, or, better, by plunging 
ourselves into labors that will make us think of others. 

Imagine a hopeless human derelict who has lost home, friends, 
fortune, family, and his own self-respect, — does it require courage, or 
only a minute's reckless desperation, for such an wretched fellowman to 
end his days? 

Now, on the other hand, if a man was loved, honored, esteemed, 
with health, wealth, home friends, family, youth, love, faith and all the 
felicities that life can give, if such an one amid this affluent abundance 
should kill himself — that would be courage — were it not insanity ! 

Physical suffering, mental care and moral strain all clamor for re- 
lease. 

Death offers it, perhaps. Why not accept Death's delusive intention? 
As we all suffer it, perhaps more or less in body, mind and soul, why 
should w^e not all of us be "brave," as per poor G * * *'s opinion, and 
kill ourselves? Is not that which is good for the bee also good for the 
swarm ? Hardly. 

So long as we are truly courageous and have our wits and wills we 
will not kill the temple that houses us. 

Care and sorrow — they are awful spectres. Sin and woe — their vis- 
ages are indeed most dreadful and depressing. But for what have we 
faith and hope, intellect and love of nature, God and man? For what 
has there been planted within us the indestructible and undying hope that 
breaks out gloriously between the clouds of our despair — if not to tell us 
that it is heroism and the height of courage to "suffer and be strong?" 

And if we but bear up stoically to spite Fate, even in that there is an 
element of courage. 

But to surrender, to yield life and all hope to the usurper Death, 
because our minds exaggerate our woes — is cowardice unto the end of 
time. 

If the Talmud says: "Hamabid atzmo I'do-as en lo chedek I'olom 
habbo."— "who so destroys himself, (his mind having departed), he has 
no part in the future world," — it must mean that cowardice is the at- 
tribute of suicide, for courage, not cowardice, is one of the attrbutes that 
we associate with immortality. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 137 

JEWISH PEOPLE AND JERUSALEM. 



The majority of the thinking Jewish people of enlightened lands 
have outgrown the limitations of a Judaism that demands a specific ter- 
ritory for its influence and existence. 

The vast majority of the people of Israel believes that Jewish wel- 
fare and development are secure by the natural evolution of humanity, 
of education and civilization, even through war and blood, without the 
zealous folly of attempting to repatriate Palestine as "a Jewish nation." 

Palestine was, more than 2000 years ago, the Jewish homeland. 
Its ancient glories are past. The memories are precious, but the Jewish 
"homeland" of the present day is that land which received the Jewish 
people in its hour of need and whose laws have safeguarded the lives, 
liberties and rights of Jewish people. 

That land alone deserves, and must receive, the undivided love, the 
unalloyed devotion, the unswerving loyalty, and unwavering allegiance 
of the Jewish people. 

JUDAISM HAS OUTGROWN JERUSALEM. 

The profound memories of the past in ancient Jewish history in the 
Holy Land are not profaned, if we decline as we emphatically do, 
to give approval to the project to divide American citizenship among 
us, by the contemplated folly of a new Jewish state in Palestine. 

AMERICA WITH ALL ITS IMPERFECTIONS IS THE 
MODERN JEWISH "HOLY LAND !" 

It is holy to us by memories more dear, more vital, more binding 
on gratitude and sentiments than all the ne'er-to-be-forgotten memories 
of ZION. 



INCULCATING PATRIOTISM. 



We are told that in some of the schools of the aristocratic West 
End the observance of Lincoln's and Washington's anniversaries is 
being neglected. 

We hope it is untrue. None of our children, high or low, rich or 
poor, are too high or too low, too rich or too poor, to reiterate and to 
be reimpressed with the ever-verdant, ever-inspiring and eternally 
invigorating history and appreciation of these tw^o lives, in whose per- 
sonalities, careers and utterances the struggles and triumphs, the 
hopes and principles of American life and glory are embodied and 
incarnated. 




138 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



ISABELLA AND ALFONSO. 



The clock of Time shows changes in the configuration of the earth, 
and also in the attitude and minds of men to other men. 

Nothing more remarkable as an illustration of the alteration possible 
through the inexorable passage of years is the attitude of Spain toward 
Jews. 

Each schoolboy knows of Spain's intolerance of the 15th century. 
The Spanish Inquisition is a red and black page in the history of man- 
kind. In 1492 Spain expelled all its Jewish people. Their banishment 
was complete. Those only remained who renounced their religion. 

Now, after the lapse of centuries, Spain not only welcomes Jewish 
people to its land, but actually seeks to protect the Jews who are in 
jeopardy in other places. 



Whether Alfonso has any power or not — his interposition is praise- 
worthy. 

It is a far cry from Queen Isabella and the Inquisition against the 
Jews to King Alfonso and Interposition for the Jews. 

Spain is greater now, in its present mediocre state, with humanita- 
rian principles under Alfonso, than it was in all its lustrous outer pomp 
and show under the dead and forgotten Ferdinand and Isabella. 



THE AUTHOR OF THE AUTO. 



The information may come as a surprise to many that the inventor 
of the automobile was a Jew named Siegfried Marcus of Mecklenburg. 
In 1875 he constructed the first automobile, which is still in posses- 
sion of the Automobile Club of Vienna, and a tablet to his memory 
is now being placed on the house in which he was born. 

Whether we should regard the inventor of the automobile as a 
benefactor to humankind is at present still in doubt, for while the 
horse stands ready to tender him his tribute for releasing him from 
bondage, the automobile is still an element of luxury and of danger, 
not only to those who possess them, but to the unfortunate ones who 
live in hourly fear of being run over by them. Additionally the 
automobile is a stimulator of envy and viewed from the moral stand- 
point has probably added considerable to class prejudice, in so far as 
most of us want automobiles and not being able to own them or keep 
them in repair on account of having to pay the ice man or the coal 
dealer, and unconsciously or consciously experience sensations not 
of the highest character as w^e see certain of our fellow citizens shoot- 
ing past in six-cylinder touring cars, "red-deviled" and the like. 

We are sure that our jesting remarks will not be taken seriously, 
for the automobile has brought about a remarkable revolution in 
methods of transit. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 139 



THE JEWISH PAPER. 



The Jewish paper is a guide, a guard, a champion, a defender and a 
sentinel ; an instructor, an educator, entertainer ; a bond between men and 
women of Jewish faith; a reflector of their thought and acts, and a stim- 
ulus to larger, better work. 

Every Jewish man or woman who values his or her own interests will 
help support one or another good Jewish paper, for in so doing he is only 
providing for himself and his people in the case of possible em.ergency, 
which may present itself at any time. 



THE RED CROSS. 



Instead of feeling any perturbation of spirit at seeing the Red Cross 
in Jewish homes or on the person of a Jewish man or woman, we would 
feel genuine distress if it was absent in any truly Jewish home or on 
any Jewish person. 

The Red Cross in this present use of it has no religious meaning. 
It signifies a necessary, indispensable assistance, an aid and medical 
relief for the destructive, deadly damage that the insane acts of men 
inflict upon each other in offense and defense, because as yet reason and 
religion do not rule the earth. 

The well-nigh universal prevalence of the Red Cross in Jewish 
homes proves, not only the unstinted, active, hearty support by the Jew- 
ish people of the noble work, but also a broad, liberal interpretation of 
the emblem, not as a religious symbol of the Christian church or of 
"Christian charity," but of all-embracing humanity and the healing hand 
that knows no creed or cross. 

Suppose we cross the letter "t" in the word "humanity?" Is that 
a concession to Christianity? Does that affect our Jewish faith other 
than to make it yet more noble? 

How petty the objection is may be observed when we note that in 
many Jewish temples, Jewish women are sewing as Red Cross units, 
with the emblem in evidence under the very roof of the synagogue ! 

Instead of viewing this with dismay or alarm, we feel a genuine 
pride and gratification, that American patriotism for Jewish men and 
women can so cheerfully and practically exemplify itself in self-sacrific- 
ing service, with a disregard of such a non-essential as an emblem ! 

Crosses or bars, triangles or stars, what do they signify so long as 
the work and principle is nobly necessary and rightly done in proper 
spirit and in lofty mood ? 



140 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



JEWS IN SOCIALISM. 



The Jew will be found in numbers in the Socialist movement 
and in the Socialist party of every country, but he is found simi- 
larily in the ranks of the conservative, the capitalist and the medi- 
ator. The Jewish people are known to be individualists and each 
one is guided by his own thinking, and, like other human beings, by 
his own interests. 

That so many are on the side of this movement, the party which 
promises justice and better opportunities to the struggler and the 
masses, is but a natural consequence of having suffered by the wrong 
and injustice that has been their portion from so many sources for 
so many years. 

A more abominable figure cannot be conceived than a Jewish 
man or woman who is not allied with every cause where justice 
is at issue. 

If the sufferings and wrongs of the Jews have any genuine les- 
son to leave, it is to make us defenders and champions of every cause 
or movement that points to broader tolerance and juster social Hfe. 



UNCLEANLINESS AND RUSSIAN JEWS. 



The scene was in the basement of a large department store. 

A demonstrator of a washing machine was declaiming its merits. 

An onlooker, a stately non-Jewish lady, was listening. She 
questioned the power of the machine to clean soiled clothes. The 
ardent demonstrator said : "Why, I just used it last week on the 
dirty wash of a Russian-Jewish family. That proves it!" 

The lady (a non-Jewish lady, remember) said: "Why do you 
specify Russian-Jewish? You should not mention any nationality 
or religion," and reported the matter to the employers. 

The episode is trifling, but profoundly instructive. 

The demonstrator sinned in ignorance, of course. We will assume 
that fact, but ignorance is the basis of three-quarters of all preju- 
dice. 

Contrast it with the high intelligence and truly cultured con- 
science of the lady, who, not Jewish herself, could yet see promptly 
the injustice of indicting an entire body of people for the failings 
of a few. 

Some Russian-Jewish families are uncleanly. That is true, but 
so are many Catholic, Irish or Protestant Americans. 

Cleanliness — like godliness, — is not a matter of race or denomi- 
nation. Each race and denomination has specimens of clean and un- 
clean folk — as it has good and bad. Let us remember this, always, 
and appreciate people, who like the lady at the washing machine 
demonstration, rebuke (or instruct) those who forget or do not 
know it. 

The excellent lady may never see these lines but others may 
profit by her fine example, which if universally emulated would sig- 
nify the end of prejudice and the rise of justice in the world. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 141 



ARE YOU ONE-EYED? 



If we were asked what particularly vicious ailment afflicted our 
community (and others, too), at this particular time, we might coin the 
pun — "one-sighted-ness" (one-sidedness) . 

Asking indulgence for the crude attempt at play on the word, we 
may proceed to speak in earnest of the meaning. 

Most of us appear to be one-eyed. Not physically are we one-eyed, 
but in mind and in devotion to some single phase and preferred branch 
of action. 

One man sees only his family needs or his work and is completely 
blind to those of the community. 

Here is another whose devotion to the community deprives his 
family or his business of its share of his presence and duty. 

While one has an eye only for his synagogue, the other's vision is 
limited to his pet charity or his political party. 

This excellent lady appears to have two eyes, but in reality her 
sight stops with the horizon of her particular club or philanthropy. That 
Otherwise estimable woman sees only her husband and children. The 
third has the myopic vision that sees only pasteboard cards and chips, 
picture shows and tango teas as vital to existence! 

Yonder good man's eye is single on his fraternal brotherhood. The 
other can note only his own secret organization's right to his allegiance 
and fealty. A third is only Zionist. 

One sees with an orthodox eye, another with a reform eye and a 
third with an eye for Y. M. H. A. or social service in one of its infinite 
forms. 

All this may be good, in so far as concentration and specialization 
are said to be imperative today for what is undertaken. 

But there is a loss, a serious one. 

We grow "one-sighted." 

We cannot persistently or perpetually keep the eye glued on one 
spot, without a loss of larger vision. We must naturally grow narrow 
with this concentration on one thing only, however good or poor that 
object of our zeal or our attachment. 

It is a genuine joy to meet occasionally, (oh so rarely) people with 
TWO eyes ! Such people appear to be able to see, not only their fav- 
orite organization's good, not only the merit of their particular charity 
or of their own family, but they can discern also the good, the merit, the 
need, the excellence and indispensability of other organizations, of other 
families and other people. 

Are you one-eyed.'' Are your optics sound? 

Let us all go to the oculist of common sense and have our eyes or 
rather our sight so properly adjusted that we may be able to see, as we 
should, with BOTH eyes, widely, deeply and truly. 

Let us cease to be one-eyed ! 



142 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THEOLOGY IN STREET CARS. 



A Christian lady in St. Louis is spending $500 a month for 
street car advertising of theological texts, such as "The Blood of 
Christ Saves," and like admonitions. 

The lady means well, but hov^ about saving the souls of those 
who ride in automobiles instead of street cars? 

We are not trying to arouse class feeling — but sinners are as 
numerous in autos as in street railways. 

Then again, does theology save from sin? Suppose there were 
Jewish sinners in the street car where apepars the sign : "The Blood 
of Christ Saves." 

We admit there are a few Jewish sinners whose souls need 
saving — or rather awakening. 

Will it be necessary to put Jewish texts in the street cars also, to 
win those to virtue and salvation, to whom the supernatural theory 
of vicarious atonement does not appeal ? 

We would suggest another text — and wish we could afford to 
set it side by side with the Christian lady's street car counsel. 

Our text would be from Isaiah : 

"Cease to Do Evil, 
Learn to Do Good !" 

This is so much simpler, so much easier to comprehend, and so 
much more difficult to do ! 



THE THEOLOGIZED THEATRE. 



There has been so much agitation against the sinfulness of the stage 
and its silliness, that now there is a dangerous tendency to let the pendu- 
lum swing to the other extreme and take the play (to carry the allitera- 
tion further), from the senseless and sensual, to the sanctimonious. 

This expression of opinion follows from reflecting on the appear- 
ance of a new play entitled "The Faith Healer." Our remarks need not 
be interpreted as an analysis of the dramatic merits of the play or of 
the actor. It merely strikes us as startling and notable that from the 
emptiness of the so-called musical comedy and the lewdness of lascivious 
dances, the average theater-goer should suddenly be presented with a 
thinly-veiled teaching of theology served up with dramatic sauce and sea- 
soning. 

The strict church element which takes particular pleasure in criticis- 
ing the stage (without ever witnessing any of its performances), will 
continue to criticise all the more bitterly any attempt to use the stage for 
theological aims. They may regard it as an audacious competition with 
their own sacerdotal functions. 

Between the Devil and the Saint, presented on the modern stage, the 
Devil will win out, if we read human nature rightly. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 143 

THE PERPLEXITY OF A YOUNG JEWISH MAN. 



Let us suppose a case like this. Perhaps it's true. 

A young Jewish man lives in a small but thriving town. His 
knowledge of Jewish life is restricted by his environment, which is 
entirely non-Jewish, there being but one other Jewish family in the 
town. 

By patient effort, industry, mental powers, study and devotion 
he is now prospering. He has been elected to one of the town offices 
because of his ability, although his Jewish ancestry is known. 

He can progress further in his present location. He is on the 
upward path, but he has no Jewish association or surroundings. He 
meets no feminine folk of his faith, but many charming maidens of 
non-Jewish sects. The young man is of marriageable age. He be- 
lieves in wedded life and is inclined to the settled state that matrimony 
oft'ers. 

Shall he inter-marry? It seems to be the only thing that he 
can do — unless he leaves his present comfortable berth and oppor- 
tunities to engage anew in the hard struggle for recognition in a 
larger city, against odds, with the consequent loss of time and past 
efforts. 

The non-Jewish ladies are not unattractive. In fact they are de- 
cidedly winning — and willing ! 

The young man feels the Jewish consciousness despite the ab- 
sence of Jewish institutional surroundings. He has the "group" sen- 
timient and Jewish attachment. He keeps a Jewish paper and this 
holds his connection with Jewish life and thought. 

Shall he sunder himself finally and completely by inter-marriage 
in his little town to some sweet lady of the Christian faith, or shall 
he remain single and desert his present place, income, friends and 
opportunities to chance it in an unknown field? 

If you were that young man, or were asked to give him your 
advice — what would your counsel be? 

Inter-marriage in communities where there are numbers of Jew- 
ish folk may be regarded with objection, but in such a case as the 
one propounded here, what alternative has the young man? 

His case is not an isolated one. It can be multiplied by many 
fold. 

While others may not take the situation seriously, this young 
man does and many of our readers will regard it likewise as one of 
the strange perplexities of modern Jewish life in the United States. 

Shall he break with the young Christian lady or with his faith 
and people? 

His parents are orthodox and still living. They naturally wish 
him to marry within the fold. His final regard and Jewish conscious- 
ness conflict with his connubial intentions and surroundings. 

What can we say to this perplexed young Jewish man? 

There have been happy and unhappy intermarriages. Intermar- 
riage does not necessarily spell discord, though it makes it easier. 



144 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



The choice of church, the religion of the children (if there are any) 
creates a problem early in the marital relations, where intermarriage 
is. Yet, serious discords are quite numerous in unions where religions 
of husband and wife are not opposed. There are hundreds of other 
matrimonial reefs than only differences of faith. 

Felicity in marriage hinges on a number of conditions other than 
religion — but, surely and undoubtedly, a divergence of religious creed 
must make the road to mutual happiness a good bit thornier. 



GIVERS AND NON-GIVERS. 



A charity or relief collection campaign brings out human nature 
at its best and also shows some of its most unlovely traits. 

There are the sincere and self-sacrificing workers. They know 
no limit to their unremitting zeal and give unstinted time and labor 
to the cause. 

There are, in contrast, others who participate, but with a sham 
enthusiasm, doing it merely because they would be with the leaders — 
or worse, to avoid the actual call for donations. 

A collection committee will meet the cheerful giver, who promp- 
tly gives his share and gladdens the solicitor not only by the money 
gift, but by the hearty manner of extending it. 

The same committee will meet the curmudgeon, who not alone 
declines to give a cent (though amply able), but does it in such rude, 
discourteous and unfeeling way that one is tempted to call the police 
and ask for his arrest. Unfortunately, there is no legal charge that 
can be placed against him, although he violates the primal principles 
of decency, civility and sympathy. 

There is the donor of the heart, who gives his oft'ering with deep- 
est earnestness, more than his means permit, because his heart bleeds 
for the misery he cannot quench. 

There is, quite differently, the one who gives a trifling sum, 
when, gauged by his (or her) bank account it ought to be at least 
a hundred times as much. They fear to say completely "no," but 
also fear the "letting go" of their beloved lucre. 

There is the giver who gives because he "can't refuse the lovely 
ladies" — and doesn't care if the object is to convert the heathen, build 
skating rinks or save the suffering Jews. 

There is the humanitarian who gives because the cause is good 
and not because "business" will not permit him to decline. And so 
on — infinitum. Human nature is a strange affair. Especially is it so 
in the giving of charity. 




THE WREATH OF VICTORY 




MARCHING HOME! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 145 



THE IMPOTENCE OF PROHIBITION. 



The Jewish attitude to prohibition is moderation, not the total 
inhibition and forbidding of all liquor. 

It was Dean Hole, an eminent English cleric, who held the posi- 
tion that liquid products made from nature's grains and grapes could 
not in themselves be sinful. Even poisons have medicinal values. 

The excess of indulgence in anything is deleterious. Card playing 
is enjoyed by many good people and abominated by others; it may 
be a pastime and it can become a ruination. 

Dancing is pleasure to some, and by others is regarded as one of 
Satan's most insidious inventions. 

Work is the savior of men ; yet overwork kills. 

Eating supports us ; gluttony, or the excess of eating, stupefies 
and ends existence. 

All things have their use and their abuse. 

Liquor and malt beverages have theirs. 

Because this good use is abused, and because due regulations 
have not been provided, the well-meaning but misguided prohibition 
brother comes to drive all liquor out of existence. 

Does he hope to end the problem so? 

Hypocrisy, secret indulgence, disguised drinks follow — follow and 
bring new evils in their train. 

The theory that we are our brother's keeper is only true to a 
limited extent. Most of us would resent strongly if our brother 
should in turn try to become our keeper and attempt to rule us against 
our own best judgment in matters wherein we feel ourselves equally 
capable and intellectually as able to weigh the consequences. 

This theory of being our brother's keeper made a Spanish inquisi- 
tion possible. The auto-da-fe and the burning of witches was but the 
extreme of that theory. 



CARD PLAYING. 



It is gratifying to observe that this former waste of time in 
card playing is being supplanted by cultural, educational and social 
service work of finer nature by women. 

In fact, it is being admitted, by intelligent Jewish people, that 
card playing, indulged in at the cost of better things and precious 
time that could be utilized in useful work, is foolish if not wrong. 

Life is too valuable and too short to spend any considerable part 
of it in card playing. • 

Even as diversion or as a revenue-bringing attraction, card play- 
ing is growing obsolete in favor of many more enjoyable and elevating 
pastimes and entertainments. 



146 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



JEWISH CONDITIONS AFTER THE WAR. 



Note : A Boston Jewish periodical had a symposium on the above 
theme in its Holiday edition. The editor of "The Modern View" was 
invited to express a view. The following is his opinion : 



"I can see no early prospect of radical change after the war in 
the lot of the Jewish people in belligerent lands. I can see no reason 
for believing that the war will affect the position of the Jew through- 
out the world if the status of the various governments remain as 
they were before the outbreak of the conflict. 

"The splendid service rendered by the Jewish patriots of the re- 
spective lands will not be especially appreciated. Such service was 
expected and would have been demanded had it not been voluntary 
and spontaneous. 

"The betterment of the Jewish situation is dependent, I believe, 
on the slow but sure evolution and development of liberal thought 
and of democracy in Europe. In the triumph of popular control of 
the national powers now ruled by classes or by oligarchies, rests the 
hope of the Jewish future in lands across the seas. 

"The war is not being waged for any principles of human rights. 
The slaughter is for commercial and territorial supremacy. The 
bitterness is based on narrow, selfish, national rivalries. The war 
is in fact a warning against emphasizing nationality in the Old 
World, where the strong nations battle with each other and use the 
weaker ones like pawns in chess. Would Palestine be an exception? 

"History records the improvement of Jewish conditions in Eng- 
land, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland from mediaeval days. 
I feel that this development is still in progress and will ultimately 
reach Russia and Roumania, and that sooner or later the Jew will 
have his fullest social, political and religious rights respected. 

"For the American Jewish people to voice Jewish demands, or 
to have Jewish interests protected in the Peace Congress of the 
nations, may gain a point or two or expedite some betterment, but 
large and permanent improvement of the Jewish position through- 
out the world must come from a developed and higher sense of social 
justice in the world. 

"I am optimistic enough to believe that this evolution is still 
operative in spite of the gloomy temporary state of world affairs." 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 147 



A JEWISH JUNK-HERO. 



A Jewish junk dealer hero! What an inconsistency, you say! 

Yet what else but heroism of the highest quality, humble but sublime, 

prosaic, but exalting, with the scenic setting of a "Titanic" tragedy, 

yet equally superb is this self-sacrifice as reported in the daily press : 

SAVES TWO: LOSES OWN LIFE 

Junk Dealer Is Burned Carrying Gasoline Stove From House. 



Samuel Eisen, a junk dealer of 921 High street, saved two chil- 
dren and then lost his life in a fire at 2525 Oriole avenue. West. Eisen 
was making a purchase of rags at the home of Mrs. Sarah Balsch, 
and while he was filling a sack in a shed at the rear of the house 
a gasoline stove on a table in the kitchen exploded. Mrs. Balsch 
screamed that her children, Becky, 6 months old, and Samuel, 3 years 
old, were being burned, and Eisen hurried in and carried them to the 
back yard. 

He rushed back into the house, and, Mrs. Balsch told the police, 
took the burning stove in his arms and started to hurl it through 
'a window. A second blast shook the building, and enveloped man 
and stove with flames. His clothing ablaze, Eisen fell unconscious 
near a window in the front room. Casimer Casewnske of 8238 Lilly 
avenue, who happened to be passing, kicked out the glass in the 
window and dragged Eisen out on the porch, but he died almost in- 
stantly. 

The West Walnut Park Volunteer Fire Department arrived ahead 

of the city apparatus and extinguished the flames after $800 damage 

had been done the house. Eisen, the police say, was about 50 years 

old and lived with his wife and several children. 

* * * 

Marcus Curtius, the Roman patrician, sacrificing himself by leap- 
ing into the yawning gulf, is here reincarnated in this self-immolated 
Jewish ragman, Samuel Eisen. 

Arnold Winkelried, thrust through by self-invited Austrian spears, 
has no higher crown of glory than SAMUEL EISEN. 

Leonidas, the Spartan at Thermopylae, is here outdone in 
the modern Spartan, SAMUEL EISEN, guised in the habiliments 
of a Jewish junk peddler. 

The charge of the Light Brigade was less valorous than the death 
by fire of this immigrant Jew, SAMUEL EISEN, who thereby saved 
two precious lives. 

His act was greater, loftier and nobler than any of those quoted. 

There was not the dazzling lure of being the observed of many 
men. 

There was not the stirring frenzy and mad glory and alarum of 
tierce battle to incite him. 

There was nothing to gain and all of life to lose. 

Nothing to win, did we say? What did he gain? What? Only 
an imperishable place on the roll of those whom God and men call 



148 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



truly great — they who would die for fellow-creatures. 

Why should the obscure Jewish junk dealer with a family of his 
own, lay down his life for strangers? 

An immigrant, too! Why should he play the martyr and the hero 
in a country from which some people strive to exclude him? Aye, 
why? Because the blood of heroes and the soul of martyrs of the past 
was in him. That is why ! 

Alas, that heroes such as these must die, while rich, self-seeking 
parasites and idle, shiftless, brutal wretches at the other social extreme 
live on their worthless lives to bar our human progress ! It is hard to 
understand. 

If there be a Valhalla of heroes or a Temple of ImmortaUty, or 
any place for spirits blest, there should the soul of SAMUEL EISEN 
most surely rest, an undying illustration of the heights of heroism that 
the humblest may attain if but his soul be great. 

A widow weeps and mourning children moan for SAMUEL 
EISEN, but in every man and woman whose heart is not yet calloused 
by selfishness and wrapped in self, a heart-felt sympathy is joined with 
profound admiration for this hero-husband and the martyr-father of 
our faith. 

Death here took no shining mark, but left instead a shining illus- 
tration of the divinity that lives in the human heeart — even such as 
the obscure Jewish junk hero, SAMUEL EISEN. 



WHY SCHEINFINKEL WON. 



A Russian Jewish student, Scheinfinkel compelled by his heart- 
less stepmother country of the Czar, to study in a German university, 
has won the great prize in mathematics at the University of Goet- 
tingen. 

The prize amounts to 100,000 marks. The money has been 
placed in bank for him, because, he is at present confined in concen- 
tration camp interned an "alien enemy." What an irony of fate ! 

That a Russian Jew should win a prize in higher mathematics 
should occasion no surprise. 

The very fact that he was born in Russia and was compelled 
to seek to live and try to thrive in that illiberal land, is in itself 
a serious, mathematical problem of such proportions, that to solve it, 
a superlative amount of mental, not to speak of physical, capacity 
is required. 

The constant demand on the Jew in Russia to use his wits to 
exist, under the thousand and one handicap restrictions that surround 
him, has one redeeming good (or is it bad?) result. It sharpens 
those same Russian-Jewish wits to a degree, that in a freer and less 
harsh environment, makes him the peer, and the superior of his rivals, 
professional and commercial, in the race for success and for supre- 
macy. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 149 



Much of the unkind criticism of his abiHties, his "shrewdness" 
or his cleverness, are the result, immediately or by inheritance, of 
Russia's exacting and repressive anti-Jewish attitude. 

The evil of such treatment is unpardonable, but its evil brings 
a good in that the very persecution that the Jewish people undergo 
develops the increased capacity for self-preservation and self-ad- 
vancement of those who are able, by their wits, to survive the intol- 
erable conditions, which in any other people long since would have 
surely spelled extinction of the spirit, soul and body. 



SEEING BRIEUX' "DAMAGED GOODS." 



A Jewish mother, with two daughters, inquires whether she 
should sanction the visit of the daughters with a party of young peo- 
ple to the sex-eugenic play of Brieux, "Damaged Goods." 

Our answer to the mother was, that if the daughters knew the 
synopsis of the play, the descriptive details of the disease that forms 
the subject matter of the play, could be obtained readily and more 
properly in a private interview from an informed and responsible 
physician. A personal visit to the play is not required. 

To see a play like "Damaged Goods" must rouse horror, sorrow 
and morbid thoughts. Seeing "Damaged Goods" is not a matter of 
morality, but one of temperament. The average young person's tem- 
perament is not philosophic. It is emotional and not well balanced. 

The effect may be NOT what is best for them. 

One thing is certain. If the knowledge contained in "Damaged 
Goods" is indispensable to the welfare of human beings, it should not 
be sold at $2.00 a seat. It should be unlimitedly free and public, 
without price, as is the preventive information against tuberculosis or 
influenza. 

The playhouse is not the place. It is too restricted and not inti- 
mate enough. The sincerity and singleless of the aim is in doubt, 
remembering that the play and playhouse are commercial enter- 
prises. The schoolhouse would be better — but the right persons to 
do the telling are hardly to be found. 

The ideal arrangement is to let a trusted, tactful male physician 
enlighten the boys and a competent and conscientious female phy- 
sician give the needed information to adolescent girls, — by an ar- 
rangement with the parents in advance. This when the child is 
about fifteen or sixteen. 

The child will regard the personality of the physician with re- 
spect and associate his words with a proper relation for physical 
health with which the science of medicine is identified. In this way 
the chief object of the knowledge is attained. 

The question of instructing young people about their bodily 
functions, especially regarding those concerning the organs of repro- 
duction, appears to be a problem of the hour. 



150 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



People are divided between the wisdom of telling the young and 
of letting them learn it by themselves "somehow or other." 

Properly the parent is the one to tell the child. The father 
should instruct the son, the mother should inform the daughter ; but 
the majority of parents lack the knowledge, the moral courage or the 
willingness to do this delicate, difficult but essential duty. Some par- 
ents fear to tell because they dread to arouse dormant morbid pas- 
sions in the child. They prefer to let the veil hang over it, indefi- 
nitely. 

They are willing to trust to luck, as their parents did. They re- 
fuse to face the One contingency — that, if their child went into the 
abyss, WITHOUT THE FOREWARNING, the guilt and the re- 
sponsibility would fall on the parent's head. 

Suppose the child asks questions that relate to sex. If you evade 
them you only postpone them. If you postpone too long or give re- 
plies that are untrue, the curiosity will be gratified by some compan- 
ion who gives YOUR child the information in a form and manner 
that is most unworthy and injurious. Furthermore, your cowardice 
may cause the child to lose its confidence in you as an adviser. 

The NEXT time you will not be asked. The less creditable but 
readier evil informant will be the one to whom your child will turn 
for further information. Your lies about "the stork" and "buying the 
baby from the doctor" have lost you and cost you the faith of your 
boy or your girl. 

If you cannot muster up the heart to tell the truth, or do not 
know the way, the suggestion to have a trusted physician explain the 
duties and the dangers that relate to sexual intercourse is the way 
out, whereby your obligation to the child may be honorably ful- 
filled. 

This knowledge, sensibly transmitted to the growing child, is 
the sanest and safest prophylactic and defense against what is pic- 
tured in the play of "Damaged Goods." It forewarns and forearms. 

Then such plays as "Damaged Goods" will become superfluous. 
Our playhouses will not be transformed into clinics or dispensaries 
of knowledge that belongs, by every right of modern common sense, 
to the home teaching along with the vital education in literature, 
morals and religion. 



THE END OF SCHOOL. 



Graduation is the end of one phase of life and the commencement of 
another. 

To the boy or girl who has utilized the opportunities to study and 
acquire what the school can give, the joy of conclusion is tempered by 
the regret of parting with associates and daily duties that seemed perma- 
nent. 

The chief lesson of graduation could be stated as the first vital law 
of change that insists on letting nothing stay. Everything is temporary. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 151 



"What now is bud will soon be leaf, 
What now is leaf will soon decay; 

The moon will wax, the moon will wane, 
Tomorrow be today.' 

Fortunate, indeed is the youth or maiden who realizes that each 
cycle of activity is but a part of a complete system, that school is a fit- 
ting for life, that life is a school for living. 

We cannot control our destinies. That is in a Higher Hand. Our 
power is to develop, to the strength that in us lies, the seeds and faculties 
of good that we possess. If we get that one thought into active, working 
form, — the years at school will not have been (as all too often is the case) 
a loss of precious days. 



THE DISPOSITION OF WEALTH. 



Ultimately all money will be devoted to the public welfare. 
There will be a time when there will be no abnormally swollen pri- 
vate fortunes. 

That time may be distant but it will arrive. Meanwhile the dis- 
position of wealth becomes an interesting problem (to such as have 
it) and who try to solve the problem of thinking of their own and 
of humanity. 

The will of James Campbell is one of the most interesting that 
has come to our attention. A fortune of $25,000,000 is given to the 
Medical Department of the Saint Louis University, an institution 
under Catholic auspices, but not until the wife and daughter (and 
heirs if any) have lived their lives and enjoyed the income of this 
colossal fortune. 

The Jewish community is somewhat interested in the matter as 
the Dean of the department is a Jewish physician, Dr. Hanau M. 
Loeb, and a number of Jewish students have graduated with honor 
from the university in the various departments. While the insti- 
tution is under sectarian control its pupils are from many denomi- 
nations. 

There is quite a division of opinion as to the wisdom of the pro- 
vision of Mr. Campbell's will. In our view he has answered the de- 
mands of his own kin and of posterity. It is true that for the time 
being humanity at large may be deprived of the immediate benefits 
that $25,000,000 devoted to the aid of sufifering and injured and the 
advancement of science can accomplish, but the assurance that sooner 
or later that sum will be applied to this trinity of noble purposes, 
insures the coming generation of advantages which must give us a 
satisfaction. 

It is even probable that the benefit may be enjoyed by the im- 
mediate generation, if plans to obtain loans on the prospective wind- 
fall prove effective. 

There is no wrong done to his own by thus passing on this im- 
mense sum for the benefit of humanity after they have enjoyed their 
lives from it for they will have more than they can ever spend. 



152 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



In the eyes of most thinking people the mere accumulation of 
such a mass of wealth is a waste of life and, according to the highest 
principles of morality, an almost impossible thing to do. Since the 
conditions and circumstances of the time enable some men to give 
their lives to this foolish task of money-getting, they surely become 
consciously or unconsciously servers of humanity, when the result 
of all their accumulated years of pitiful hoarding, grubbing and 
speculating, results ultimately in the wholesale application of the 
golden pile to the amelioration of pain and to the accumulation of 
the sum of scientific knowledge to fight disease and suffering. 

The growing thought of today is that the advancement of civiliza- 
tion is as much, if not more, dependent on the advancement of science 
and on the researches of the man of medicine and in the realm of chem- 
ical matter, than upon the philosopher or the theologian. 

The conception of religion today is bound up more in the thought 
that it (religion) must follow scientific leading than it that should 
be swathed in the sentimental cradle of the past. 

We may justly, therefore, term a gift to science as a gift to civ- 
ilization and religion. 

What greater good can wealth do than advance these three 
noble elements — religion, science and education — which, together, 
comprise the highest form of civilization ? 



FRIDAY THE 13TH. 

An issue of "The Modern View" is dated Friday the 13th, a com- 
bination that is fearful in the eyes of multitudes of superstitious, but 
otherwise excellent, fellowmen and women. 

Friday and thirteen possess a terror for them that almost make liv- 
ing a burden to them. 

The superstition, as it is known, originates from the presumed day 
of the crucifixion of Christ, and that at the Last Supper there were thir- 
teen (Christ and the twelve disciples) at the table. 

That Jewish folk should feel the superstition invoked by this 
Christian tradition is indeed a marvel, unless they attribute the Christian 
events that base the superstitions as the beginning of Jewish persecu- 
tion. 

We fear that the superstitious ones, whether Jewish or otherwise, 
neither know the origin nor trace the relation between the origin of the 
superstitions and their faith in them. 

They believe them blindly. And that is the terrible evil of all super- 
stition — that it is deaf to argument, blind to light and invincible to 
reason. 

Superstition basks in ignorance and obstinacy. It cannot be argued 
with or destroyed by force. 

As old ones die from inanition, sheer decay, new superstitions take 
root, like this year's weeds. 

The only way to avoid superstition is to grow the better things 
of heart and mind in the individual, where otherwise superstition will 
fall like a noxious plant and thrive. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 153 



CONGREGATIONAL INCOM ES AND EXPENSES. 

• That 80 per cent of Jewish people are not affiliated with congre- 
gations proves either that Jewish congregational devotion is seri- 
ously on the decline, or that the congregations are not conducted on 
the proper lines. 

We incline to the latter view. We think in many cases the min- 
isters' salaries are excessively high, compared to the congregation's 
income. 

The expensiveness of choirs is equally a burden. The heavy 
debts, on costly buildings, devouring annually an abnormal inter- 
est — co-operate in checking any material progress. 

Granting that a congregation may be doing good work in spite 
of financial handicaps, but the point at issue is the limitation of the 
spread of Jewish congregational growth in numbers and influence 
through antiquated Jewish "business" conceptions that are neither 
"Jewish" in principle nor "business" in their result. 

Congregations should be openly hospitable. No fixed dues 
should be charged. No one should "own" pews. "Private property" 
in a church or synagogue is a paradoxical term, and actually repel- 
lant. Buildings should not be so expensive that their cost creates a 
millstone burden of interest on the congregation's neck. Salaries of 
ministers and singers should be in proportion to the congregation's 
income, and not according to their talents, unless the income justifies. 

If congregational incomes do not justify singers and ministers 
of the first magnitude, then, like individuals or other institutions, 
secondary ones must do. 

Stellar lights are good if they attract sufficiently, new members, 
which is, no doubt, the theory of congregations spending such huge 
sums for eloquence, music, song and architecture. Surely, neither 
Judaism nor worship of the Most High make the costliness of congre- 
gational conduct a necessity of soulful worship or of the devotion of 
the spirit. Costliness can be defined wherever the income exceeds 
the expenditure or where the membership (and thereby the income) 
is restricted by imposing arbitrarily fixed dues arresting growth and 
progress. 

It is high time for Jewish men in the pews to take this homily 
to heart and give its leaders their expression on this vital theme if 
congregational Jewish life is to be more than the skeleton of Judaism. 

Is it really hospitable for a Jewish congregation to officially tell 
those who would enter that they cannot be admitted to communion 
if they do not pay a minimum of $60, $40, or even $25 per year, or 
else be taken in as charity members? 

Is it conducive to democracy and equality to bar any worthy 
members from the preferred pews because the pews "belong" to 
some one with proprietary rights like a theater with reserved seat 
coupons or boxes at checks? It savors of snobbishness. It empha- 
sizes money. 

Dues should be optional. 

Pews should be unreserved. 



154 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 
REVENGE IS NOT JEWISH. 



The Jew is positively forbidden to harbor hatred or vengeance against 
his fellowman. We are taught that "retribution and recompense belong 
to the Lord" (Deut. 32, 35). 

In a world that is ruled by supreme wisdom and goodness, as the 
Jew believes, evil must defeat itself. "Wrongdoing shall slay the wicked" 
(Psalm 34-21). 

The Bible tells us that all men are created in the image of God and 
if we nurse the feelings of hatred or revenge we are simply marring the 
divine image which has been stamped upon us. 

"If you meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt 
surely bring him back to him. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee 
lying under his burden and thou wouldst forbear to help him, thou shalt 
surely help him" (Deut. 23, 4-5). 

"Say not, I will recompense evil; wait on the Lord and he shall save 
thee" (Prov. 20, 22). 

"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be 
thirsty, give him water to drink" (Prov. 24, 17-18). 

"If I rejoice at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up 
myself when evil found him; yea, I suffer not my mouth to sin by asking 
his life with a curse" (Job 31, 29-30). 

"Of those who are humiliated and do not humiliate, who are reviled 
and do not retort, who act from the love of God and patiently bear their 
sufferings, to them applies the passage of scripture ; they who love God, 
are like the sun when he goes forth in his hight" (Talmud Gittin 360). 

"If thy friend unload, and thy enemy be loading, help thine enemy 
first, so that thou mayst conquer wickedness" (Mezia 32b). 

God speaketh: "Be like Me, as I requite evil with good, thus do 
return good for bad" (Shemoth Rabba 26). 

Love thy fellow man is the great principle of our religion. There- 
fore, say not : For that I have been reviled, therefore shall my neigh- 
bor also be reviled; because I have been humiliated, therefor shall my 
neighbor also be humbled. Remember whom thou wouldst revile, if thou 
act thus, for he too is created in the image of God" (Bereshith Rabba 24). 
Is it different than that of the Christian Savior's? No. Christ simply 
reiterated Jewish teaching. 



Gold is not the most precious of metals. Would we ever trade the 
Liberty Bell for one of gold? 



Some one stole a Persian's Bible, a Koran. After the detectives 
have located him, missionaries might hand him a free copy of the Ten 
Commandments. 



General Cronje, the Boer veteran, is to marry the widow of a former 
comrade. General Cronje's courage was always acknowledged. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 155 



SYNAGOGUE EXPENSE AND REVENUE. 



If the average individual person has the everpresent problem 
of making ends meet, the average synagogue is in a similar state. 

As in the cases of many people who live beyond their means 
and income, keeping up appearances and gratifying their vanity or 
love of splendor, so also many synagogues live "beyond their means" 
by permitting expenditures above their natural income. 

We say "natural" income, which would bar such an unnatural 
and unjust source of income as selling private pews or renting them, 
as one would a garage, "to meet expenses !" 

Where is spirituality or proper sentiment in making the audi- 
torium of any synagogue a sort of parquette, dress circle balcony 
and gallery, according as one pays for the privilege of being near 
or far from the altar, or from the minister or choir? 

Is the synagogue a theater or an opera house, that the methods 
there in vogue should be applied to what is thought to be a place of 
nobler fellowship and high communion? 

Private pews, or rented pews, in any synagogue are an abomi- 
nation. 

They nullify the spirit of democracy. They emphasize the 
power of the dollar bill. 

The sooner all pews are made common property and every seat 
open to any member (or non-member?) the better for the synagogue 
and for the Jewish spirit. 



THE DAY OF MEMORIAL. 



The nature of all reflections is tempered by our experiences and 
our hopes. Sometimes both are pleasant and our feelings ride on the 
topmost wave of optimism. We look backward and forward cheer- 
fully and confidently. 

If the reverse is true and our experiences and our anticipations 
are neither of them happy, the sky of our existence has a gloomy pall. 
We find no joy or satisfaction either in glancing at the past or into 
the future. 

In hardly any life is everything roseate. Blessings unalloyed are 
not conceived as best for man or woman. Nor, on the other hand, is 
everything funereal. Life, to nearly every individual, is a mixture of 
grief and gladness, of joys and sorrows, hopes and disappointments. 



156 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



HEBREW POLITICAL CLUBS. 



HEBREW POLITICAL CLUBS of any party (under any title) 
ARE UN-AMERICAN AND UN-JEWISH, because— 

1. Such clubs violate the American principle of separation of 
church and state, of creed and civic life. 

2. Such clubs encourage the false impression that the Jewish 
men are clannish and banded together on sectarian lines. 

3. Such clubs give opportunity to fleece unthinking candidates 
for public office to get personal political preferment or other private 
advantage. This is their usual purpose. 

4. Such clubs react on the Jewish people by giving anti-Semites 
a seeming justification to vote against them as a sect or race. 

5. Such clubs weaken the maintenance of political rights of 
Americans of the Jewish faith. They destroy the recognition of the 
principle that all citizens are entitled to equal rights irrespective of 
creed or race. 



JEWS AND CHRISTIAN CLUBS. 



The claim of Jewish applicants for admission to non-Jewish 
social clubs is weakened by the fact that in most Jewish social clubs, 
non-Jews are also ineligible to membership. So why should pot call 
kettle black? 

Many social clubs (Jewish included) run largely to liquor and 
gambling. 

Most social clubs have little, if any, real value to the community. 

The barring of Jews from Christian social clubs we can bear 
calmly. It only disappoints a few ambitious people. 

That the Y. M. C. A.'s of certain cities limit the per cent of 
Jewish applicants should not be at all a surprise. The wonder is 
that they accept them at all in any per cent. (That is why a 
Y. M. H. A. is required — if only for our self-respect and pride.) 

It is a far dififerent matter, when the Jew is barred from par- 
ticipation in public affairs, when his children are discriminated against 
in public schools, or when in any matter involved the equality and 
humanity of man, Jewish civil or religious rights are trampled on 
or slighted. 

Then resentment, flaming indignation and definite resistance are 
in order and in place. Then we should protest. 

The minor matter of mingling with a snobbish set of money- 
bags, among whom Jewish men are neither welcome nor desired, is 
in comparison, a negligible matter. We can afford to utterly ignore 
it with indifference. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 157 

"SHYLOCK." 



"Shylock" in "The Merchant of Venice" is without question and 
beyond dispute a character that provokes, instils and confirms anti- 
Jewish prejudice. "Shylock" is a most repulsive character DE- 
PICTED AS A JEW, a character which no art can make lovable 
or even comprehensible to any miscellaneous assemblage. 

Heinrich Heine, after witnessing "Shylock," exclaimed: "The 
poor man is wronged !" Yet who save one who has the deep foun- 
tains of feeling of a Heinrich Heine can give a "Shylock" sympathy? 
Ninety and nine of every one hundred who see him will despise 
"Shylock" and rejoice in his defeat, disgrace and punishment. With 
every hateful act and mien goes the misused word of "Jew." Through- 
out the play it is "thou villain Jew!" "The devil Jew!" "Harsh, 
cut-throat Jew !" "Jew, devil incarnation !" 

How charming in a public school for growing young people to 
be fed on matter of this character! 

Can this do anything but stimulate or strengthen anti-Jewish 
feeling and misunderstanding, especially in a publiic High School 
where the impressionableness of youth is dominant? Can "Shylock" 
and the Jew be disassociated? 

Shakespeare abounds in beautiful acts suitable for class plays. 
Why then must this most nauseating and foul figure of "Shylock," 
whose very appearance on the stage inspires prejudice and makes us 
blush to think him as a Jew — why must this hideous, inhuman crea- 
ture be the stock in trade of educational diet for our public schools? 



THE EXODUS AND LEADERSHIP. 



The people are not always glad to follow thoughtful leaders. 

Leaders have to contend with envy, ignorance and apathy. 

Leaders must combat selfishness and simple-mindedness. 

Leaders must fear misunderstanding and misconception — and 
after service inappreciation and ingratitude. 

The leader must face the four kinds of questioners pictured in 
the Seder ceremony, i. e., the skeptical, the wicked, the simpleton 
and the ignorant. 

Real leaders, such as Moses was, according to tradition, have no 
reck or malice, selfishness and thanklessness. 

They do their heroic tasks simply, as a God-given duty to the 
performance of which their lives are dedicated, irrespective of results 
or consequences. 

The real leader's determination is as fixed as is the Polar star. 
His course is as decided as the orbit of the earth. 

The great leader is resolute, resolved ; unwavering and positive, 
— unmindful of himself or aught save his great purpose and intention, 
his adamantine aim. 



158 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



FANNIE'S FALLACY. 



In the announcement of her trial marriage, in the daily press, Miss 
Fannie Hurst, the authoress, has furnished good material for a better 
story than any of the many she has written in her brilliant record of 
success. In fact, we are tempted to attempt to write the tale, leaving 
the unfinished chapters to be written by the hands of Providence and 
Circumstance, the editors of human destiny. 

Politics, baseball, Jewish War Sufferers Relief and Zionism, all 
themes have taken secondary place to the subject of Miss (or Mrs.) 
Hurst's amazing matrimonial experiment. 

Some may think us flippant in this statement, but we are not so 
— not entirely. 

So far as Mrs. Hurst personally is concerned, we trust, sincerely, 
that her union will be happy and enduring. W^e doubt it. Wedlock 
without a mutual home — is foredoomed to failure. 

She must abandon and surrender the idea of separate households if 
the union is to hold. 

From her, we turn to the idea which her daring action has brought 
into notice, namely the alteration of the marriage institution from 
its present state.. 

Resolved to its final analysis, the question involved is whether 
as in the case now being considered, the individual is the unit of 
society or the family group of two, or more. 

It is the same problem as that between anarchy and socialism, — 
viz : Whether the individual or the multitude should get a first con- 
sideration. 

"Why not both?" some one may ask. In a society like ours, be 
it New York or Saint Louis, where mortals are in close and constant 
contact and interdependent, marriage, unlike religion, is not a matter 
of the individual alone. We cannot make two sets of laws in a 
democracy. Every law or convention imposes hardship on some one. 

The greatest fallacy on earth is the idea that a marriage concerns 
only the immediate high contracting parties. Nothing is more untrue. 
Not they alone, but human society at large, directly and indirectly 
profits by a wise, or loses by a hapless marriage. 

Every marriage affects the present and the future of society. The 
past often has its bearing on marriage. Marriages are links, chaining 
yesterday with today and tomorrow. They do this chiefly through 
THE HOME. Its excellence spells progress, its decay, retrogression. 

The direct corollary and condition of a marriage that shall yield 
the best results is THE HOME that both uphold and share. 

The elimination of THE HOME — admitting and despite its many 
drawbacks — would be a calamity of vast proportion. It takes the 
essence from the union — the perfume from the flower. If incom- 
patibility that is incurable, should come, a separation is a far more 
sensible alternative than a pre-arranged marital isolation that dis- 
penses with the Home. 

No one can take "a bond of fate" — not even in a trial marriage ! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 159 



Intellectual stagnation does not follow necessarily on marriage, 
be it happy or unhappy. Mental productivity after marriage is per- 
fectly logical. The many new experiences cause expansion of ideas, 
rather than sterility or barrenness. 

Thomas Carlyle and Jane Welsh were mismated — but both were 
mentally productive. 

Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning were literary 
geniuses. Though married in the quite old-fashioned way, they were 
supremely happy and congenial. 

However lofty and sincere the conception of a modern marriage 
tie that would give two high-minded individuals an unhampered free- 
dom, — its advantages are subordinate to what they lose in the joy of 
association — or in the effective discipline of mutual suffering, — be it 
from clashes of temperament or blows of misfortune. 

Does any human being hope to escape irritation, evil, sickness, 
sorrow, suffering? Clever indeed would be that individual who could 
encompass by his own arrangement such an impossible blessedness. 

To think of finding escape from care in connubial relations, by 
living apart and keeping up a pseudo-individuality is a fallacy as 
great as it is sad. We have progressed in the marriage institution 
from polyandry and polygamy to monogamy and THE HOME. 

We will not say that further progress is impossible — but progress 
should come, not in changing the institution, but rather in improving 
the men and women who enter it. 

A higher understanding of marriage, a finer fitness for it — that 
is the need. If this be emphasized, before we let justices of the peace 
or ministers mumble the fateful words — the need of trial marriages 
will be utterly removed for common or superior folk. 



CHRISTIAN MISSIONS FOR JEWS 



What are the Jewish people anyway? Are they heathen or 
barbarians that special "missions" for their "salvation" must be 
suffered? Isn't their age-long martyrdom sufficiently complete with- 
out this adventitious insult to their intelligence and faith? 

Judaism was a faith long before Christianity. Its best doctrines 
are in the Christian philosophy. Its moral standards are as high. 

Christian "missions" have nothing to teach the Jew, except the 
Christian theology which is not congenial to him or compatible with 
his conviction. 

It is poor business and usually a fruitless one to try to wean 
Jewish people from their noble faith, which embraces the Ten Com- 
mandments and the highest principles of justice and benevolence. 

Most Christian people reaHze the folly of such undertakings and 
the wrong of it — and refuse their sanction or their dollars. 

The dollars are frequently the ambition of conversionists rather 
than the "divine" purpose. 



160 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE EVOLUTION OF EGYPT. 



Last month the Jewish people celebrated the Passover festival 
which commemorates the exodus of the Jews from ancient Egypt, due 
to the tyranny of the Pharaoh of that time. 

This week the Jewish world learns with natural pleasure and 
interest that Sir Mathew Nathan, a Jew, one of the ablest of Eng- 
land's colonial administrators, has been appointed as the British rep- 
resentative to Egypt. 

The position and influence that Sir Mathew Nathan will hold in 
the Egyptian kingdom will be greater than that reputed to have been 
held by Joseph of old. To all intents and purposes Great Britain 
is the supreme power in Egypt today. 

What a splendid illustration of Time's adjustment is that the 
evolution of Egypt in the appointment of an illustrious son of Israel 
in the person of Sir Mathew Nathan, to the chief post in that Eastern 
Empire. Let us pray and trust that the period of persecution in 
other lands may be not so long and the generations and centuries 
fewer than have elapsed from the time when the Israelites were com- 
pelled to flee from Egypt until now when at the pinnacle of the 
Egyptian government stands a modern Jew of the English nation sent 
there as its accredited and official representative with all the power 
and influence that that implies. 





JUDAS MACCABAEUS 
(Statue by Max Kalish) 




i M mi l i ii» I I 




MONUMENT TO JEWISH SOLDIERS OF THE CIVIL WAR 
Un New York Cemetery) 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 161 



HOW JEWS ARE JUDGED. 



A solemn truth that any Jew who may be temped to wrongdoing 
should bear in mind is the sad fact, we are judged AS JEWS, and not 
as individuals, and by our worst, not by our best. 

The Jew who refuses to realize that by his own trespassing he 
wrongs his Jewish brethren and his ancestors as much as his Chris- 
tian fellowmen, deserves ostracism and the censure of the Jewish 
community — not from any "holier-than-thou" precept, for "to err is 
human," but because the dishonor of the individual Jew involves 
the entire Jewish people. 



SEVENTY-FIVE PER CENT UNPREJUDICED. 



There was a time when the world was nearly 100 per cent anti- 
Jewish. 

If 75 per cent of the people are broad-minded, liberal and not 
biased by religious intolerance, our interests as men and as Jewish 
people are absolutely safe. 

It all depends upon the point of view. If, instead of making 
our heading read, "SEVENTY-FIVE PER CENT UNPREJU- 
DICED" we had written "TWENTY-FIVE PER CENT ANTI- 
JEWISH" the difference between Jewish optimism and Zionist pes- 
simism would be clear. 

Despite existing instances we know, by historical comparison 
with yesterday that the world is progressing to a larger, better un- 
derstanding and appreciation of the Jew. 

Prejudice, though it still shows its ugly head in many places, 
is definitely declining. 

We may never get 100 per cent fellowship religiously, any more 
than 100 per cent efficiency in business, but the rate of progress 
shows 75 per cent unprejudiced. It is very comforting. 




162 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



COLLECTING AND DISBURSING FUNDS 



The merit of a community fund is as much in the administration 
of it and the cost of such administration as in the actual amount col- 
lected. 

If, for instance, for every $100 collected there is an overhead 
expense of $35, it is not the same as if for each $100 there is but 
$1 of expense. 

This disproportion is the relation between the administrative ex- 
pense of the Zionist and the Jewish War Relief refunds. 

The former (the Zionist) is under a 35 per cent expense of 
administration, the latter has but 1 per cent of waste, the 99 per 
cent going to the beneficiaries of the cause. 

It is not the amount collected but the sum that goes to the intended 
ultimate purpose that counts. 

Therefore, carefully audited reports that show "Where the money 
goes" are not so dry or dull as they may seem to those who do not care 
for figures or statistics. 

The Joint Distribution Committee has spent nearly twenty-eight 
million dollars. Had its expense been 35 per cent instead of only 1 per 
cent, the war sufferers in Europe would have been deprived of Nine 
Million Dollars actual relief. 



"DRIVES" 

Some folk think that "drives" are coming on too often. 

Just to prove this isn't so another campaign for $5,000,000 will 
be launched — this time for Jewish education in America. 

Mr. Louis Marshall, the leading Jew of America, says the spiritual 
famine in our own land is as great as the physical hunger in war-wracked 
countries overseas. 

In a vital address he urges this campaign for funds for Jewish 
education in America, the details of which are to be thought out, but 
which are to include all the Jewish literary, religious and cultural 
organizations of the United States as agencies for the dissemination of 
the spiritual endeavor, aided by this fund of five million. 

It is a statesman's vision and idea and how can the puny argu- 
ment that "we have had too many drives" be used against a proposi- 
tion of such magnitude and merit? 

Money is surely less in value than the elevation and development 
of mind and souls. To view it otherwise is to confess one's own need 
of mental and of spiritual improvements. 

We may grumble at the continuous demands, but they must 
all be met, for unlike those of the profiteers, the needs of educa- 
tion, of charity, and of culture are legitimate. 

The profiteers are leeches who live from us and spoil the earth, 
but the workers in developing spiritual and social betterment are 
giving us larger life, and a better world. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 163 



RACE-RELIGION-NATIONALITY. 



A nation is a people united politically under one government, 
whose laws and whose support is voluntarily accepted and assumed. 
Such a nation may consist of different racial and religious groups, as 
in the United States, but united in civic understanding. The nation- 
ality of the Jewish applicant born in America is American. He is an 
American of Jewish faith, and all prospective employers are ignorant 
or prejudiced if they can not or will not see it so. An applicant is in 
error, however, in assuming that he belongs to a "Jewish race." 
There is no "Jewish race." 

A race is a particular division of mankind differing from other 
kuman species by color of skin, form of hair and shape of skull and 
other physical characteristics. We are taught that the five races of 
mankind are Caucasian, Indian, Ethiopian, Malay and Mongolian. 

There is no "Jewish" race. Most Jews are of the Caucasian race. 

Dr. A. L. Koerber, professor of anthropology of the University 
of California, has just effectually proven that there is no "Jewish 
race." He declares that throughout the civilized world the Jew in 
his body is essentially the same with the non-Jew of the same coun- 
try. They vary in their physical characteristics according to the 
lands in which they live — and they live in all lands — even China and 
Abyssinia. The distinction is not nationality or race — but in religion. 
A Jew in America should say: "I am an American, of Jewish faith 
or Jewish ancestry !" 

"Jews are no longer a tribe or tribes an antiquity records, any 
more than their Christian fellow-citizens, whose ancestors were per- 
haps of some heathen tribe if not of the Jewish ancestral tree. There 
with those of any citizen of any other faith. In America the Jew 
can play his part of patriot without restraint. In Palestine there 
was a Jewish kingdom many thousands of years ago — but after its 
destruction the Jew became a citizen of all nations. 

"In America the Jew will never sever his devotion, his alle- 
giance, loyalty and love from the United States. 
In America the Jew can be not only loyal citizen, but Jew as well 
and be respected as a Jew if he lives truly up to Judaism' s high de- 
mands of honor and morality. That is why America is the Holy 
Land to the Jew who is American, and why he wants no other 
country. 

No other land, existent in reality or in the imaginative fancy of 
misled enthusiasts, can rival or excel the fine ideals, opportunities 
and possibilities that are offered in America to all of us, to Jew and 
to non-Jew — not as a favor by some king or minister, for policy per- 
haps, whose kind "protection" we must graciously accept — but by 
virtue of the basic principles of justice and democracy. 



164 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



TWO TREASURES. 



In an interesting article in the London "Standard," an account 
is given of a search for treasures among the tombs of David and the 
Kings of Judah, very actively conducted with great secrecy and 
despatch at Jerusalem. 

The treasure seekers are working on the theory that the ancient 
Kings of Judah took with them into the tombs all their worldly 
treasures, and that if the tombs can be found a rich store awaits the 
explorers, who are Englishmen working under an agreement with the 
Turkish government under Turkish supervision. 

Whatever may be the results of this novel hunt for treasure 
trove, Jerusalem and the Israelites still have the glory for having 
given the world another and greater treasure than that of the precious 
jewels and the gold and silver that the avaricious gold seekers hope 
to find. 

In the literature, teachings and philosophy of the people of whom 
the Kings of Judah were the last of their glory, in the form of a 
state, the world has a treasure that no amount of gems, jewels and 
precious metals could even balance in value to the human race. 

It is a fit subject for some minister's text, this comparison of the 
two treasures of Palestine, the one buried and hidden in the tombs of 
departed kings, the other fresh and active in the hearts of millions 
of human beings of today. The pulpiteer could dwell on the relative 
value and insignificance of the buried treasures for which the restless 
adventurers are seeking, as against the priceless and beneficent value 
of that great treasure of thought and civilization that is embodied in 
the Bible and its commentaries, including its thoughtful and able 
reconstruction by the higher criticism from the literal and mistaken 
conceptions of preceding years. 



^ ^"^ 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 165 



•WHY FEAR DEATH.' 



A distinguished Jewish victim of the Lusitania horror was the 
late Charles Frohman, notable producer of great plays and players. 

His last words were those of a man who did not fear "the great 
adventure." "Why fear death?" he asked while Death was beckon- 
ing him to come. 

Why fear death? Truly a great question. 

If life has been pleasant and the lines of our living lovely and 
serene, we hesitate to leave the festal board and part from those who 
share it. 

If contrary, the years have been filled with regrets and tears, 
with sorrow and with pain, why are we not glad to go? 

The answer is WITHIN each one. It is the inner soul, the faith 
or the philosophy within each man or woman, that can make the 
visage of the strange, mysterious visitor one that cannot affright, 
in whatever form it comes. 

There are innumerable examples that have inspired us how to 
live. 

We need also the brave, courageous specimens of men like 
Charles Frohman, who (like his name), can be cheerful in meeting 
death, as if Death were the sleep of a brief hour — as possibly it is. 

"Why fear death?" A subject for a sermon by the most elo- 
quent of speakers. But what rhetoric or winged words could equal 
or approach this actual picture that has blazed itself upon the mind, 
or that of another Jewish man and his wife in another great ocean 
disaster (the "Titanic") — meeting death calmly, bravely, imperturb- 
ablv with this great thought in their minds and on their lips — "Why 
fear Death?" 



STATUES TO JEWS. 



The town of Rankow, near Berlin, has resolved to erect a mon- 
ument to a Jew, Professor Mendel, for his many achievements and 
proficient labors. 

Incidentally a contemporary remarks that there are few public 
monuments to Jews of note, even the greatest, in Europe. 

This need not be regretted. People do not judge by monuments. 
Fame is not measured by the avoirdupois of stone or bronze. The 
Pyramids are not the tomb of the lordliest man. Greatness Hves in 
things less concrete but more tangible and lasting than the sculptor's 
or the mason's masterpieces. 

What the Jew desires in Europe, is not statues, but statutes 
that insure equality and equity to him within the boundaries of their 
lands. 



166 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



DEATH. 

Difficult indeed it is to understand or even approximate the mean- 
ing of the Mystery. Yet just as impossible of fathoming is the mean- 
ing of Life, of which Death is the corollary. 

For whom shall we grieve more deeply? For the youth, untimely 
and unexpectedly cut off from his usefulness and from the develop- 
ment and unfolding of his gifts shall we mourn? Or, shall we weep 
for the ripe and matured, and even aged ones who, by the very length 
of years and service, have grown so dear and precious to us that their 
sinking into that silent, eternal and unconscious rest from which no 
pleading and no appeal can rouse them, makes our heart-strings snap 
and break with sorrowful and poignant agony that every permanent 
parting brings? 

The necessity for labor, the struggle for existence, the obligations 
to those that remain, compel us to raise ourselves from our depres- 
sion and dejection. We must find our comfort in the memory of 
those we have loved (and will continue to love) though their per- 
sonal presence cannot longer bless us. 

Their taking away shall make us more conscious of our common 
relation as mortal beings to all mankind. Cruel and hard as death 
may seem, he renders us more sympathetic to the mass of human 
clay. He comes to make all somewhat more considerate of each 
other. Death hurts — and heals. 

Since a common fate awaits us all we should have a common 
bond of interest in seeing that so long as the short period of active 
and mysterious life continues, we may try to make it mutually less 
bitter, less filled with irritation, oppression and unkindness. 

In this way we make ourselves be more prepared to meet the 
Great Stranger, and may await without fear the possibiHty of any- 
thing beyond that may be in store. 

The lesson of Death must ever remain, that we use our own life 
in such manner as not to fear his coming. 

Not by dissipation or recklessly casting life aside do we mean, 
but by utilizing to its fullest value Life's advantage for the good 
of others, as well as our own, so far as human knowledge, intelli- 
gence and faith can guide us. 

We must believe with the seer that : " 'Tis not the whole of Hfe 
to live ; nor all of death to die." 

We mourn the dead. But as the other poet says, and let us 
cherish it: "He mourns the dead who lives as they desire." 



FIVE MODERN JEWS 



The folly of classing Jews in bulk, or as of a kind, is never better 
instanced to our thinking than by a brief glance at five modern Jews, 
who figure in the news in the same week. 

They are Felix Adler, Samuel Gompers, Ernesto Nathan, Victor 
Berger and Baron Nathan Rothschild — five famous Jews, but what a 
variation of activity and type ! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 167 



TEACH BOYS TRADES. 



Putting Jewish boys in mechanical trades is a vital duty of our 
day. 

We see in the placing of boys at worthy and honorable manual 
trades, the salvation not only of the boy himself in that it estab- 
lishes a permanent future for him, but also that it gives a larger 
trend and a wider circle of usefulness to the already notable scope 
and sphere of Jewish activities of this modern day. 

More and more it is apparent to every sensible thinking man 
that the business and commercial life is not the one that affords the 
largest opportunities today. Business, commerce, finance, merchan- 
dising, call it what you will, the handling of commodities, is more 
and more now concentrated in large corporations. The day of the 
small individual dealer is almost entirely passed away. The little 
middle-man is a "has-been." The failure, by hundreds, of small 
dealers is positive evidence. 

Large aggregations in almost every branch of business, control 
either the supply, the product or the price. 

On the other hand, the other vital important factor in our life 
is the skilled worker who knows a trade, one in whose hands the raw 
product is perfected and whose useful powers build, create, develop 
and make the valuable necessary things of human life. 

The individual of foresight in the future will be active in one 
of these two classes. 

It is clear that the majority of us will not go into the corporation 
class, for that requires wealth and influence. 

The other class is open to us, and, if we were to believe the 
prophecies and predictions of many economic writers, the workman 
will ultimately be the controlling class. The future will recognize 
more generously that both the past and the present is indebted to 
him for much if not most of its development and greatness. 

There is a limit to labor's exploitation, either by its own false 
or foolish leaders, or by unscrupulous capitalists. 

Viewed from a purely selfish personal standpoint it is the finest 
thing in the world for any young Jewish lad to learn a mechanical 
trade. Thereby he makes himself sure of a good income for life. 
He is never lost. Never can he become an object of charity so long 
as he has his hands and brain. Many a man without a trade, with 
the knowledge of the encyclopedia in his head may not be able to 
earn a loaf of bread. 

Looking at it from a larger standpoint than that of the indi- 
vidual, to enter the ranks of the worker would be a sensible and 
sagacious act. The future is bright for the skilled worker, who has 
intelligence. The spread of justice and of a fitter sense of right, 
especially in our country, emphasizes the values, importance and 



168 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



need of the worker in every field of mechanical ability. These workers 
must undoubtedly be more and more appreciated and still better 
compensated. 

The opportunities for honor, reward and true success are large 
in the arts and crafts that come under the head of mechanical trades. 
This is the time to learn them. 



DEROGATING THE SYNAGOGUE. 



The noted American painter, John S. Sargent, has aroused a 
Jewish protest by his peculiar mural painting, "The Synagogue" on 
the wall of the Boston Library. 

Mr. Sargent is the painter of the noted Nobel prize, "THE JEW- 
ISH PROPHETS." No charge of anti-Semitism can be placed 
against him. 

The indictment is rather that he acted thoughtlessly and un- 
justly in picturing "THE SYNAGOGUE" as a figure with bowed 
head, blindfolded eyes, a broken sceptre, crown falling off and the 
broken tablets at its feet, indicating ruin and total degradation. 

"THE CHURCH," a companion picture is painted as a trium- 
phant contrast to "THE SYNAGOGUE." 

Mr. Sargent defends himself on the ground that he followed a 
representation of the synagogue as shown in European cathedrals. 

The question involves : Should modern art be made the instru- 
ment of mediaeval bigotry and prejudice? 

Of course in Christian cathedrals the synagogue would hardly 
be pictured without bias. The artist, being an American, has acted 
injudiciously and most unwisely in taking a prejudiced denomina- 
tional misrepresentation as his pattern. 

As an American his genius should have been inspired to show 
the equality of Church and Synagogue, as against mediaeval mis- 
interpretations. 

As an American his art spirit should have been fired with the 
exalting knowledge that in America, especially in a public library, 
where a Jew or non-Jew congregate — an odious contrast dishonorable 
to the Synagogue is wretchedly objectionable. 

Artistically it may be perfect — but ethically Mr. Sargent has 
transgressed seriously against good judgment, truth and high Ameri- 
can ideals, in placing in a public building a libel on the spiritual 
treasurehouse of a respected people. It is too bad. If art and jus- 
tice are not synonymous, then art has little meaning or value to 
the world. 

If art is to be so untrue to fellowship, and understanding as 
Sargent's painting of the Synagogue, then, though it be a perfect 
work, as art, it is a hollow mockery, retarding progress and the 
brotherhood of man. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 169 



"YIDDISH" IN AMERICA. 



HEBREW was the language of the Jewish people and is still 
spoken. "Yiddish" is a jargon, a mosaic of several, chiefly German. 

Whatever justification the use of this harsh jargon may have had 
in past years, we are of the view that conditions are changing and 
that its spread in America should NOT be encouraged. 

While we do not go to the extreme length of decrying or despising 
foreign tongues in America, we DO believe that all folk, Jewish 
and non-Jewish, should be able to speak and read English, for their 
own sake as well as that of the nation. 

When one portion of the Jewish people uses "Yiddish" which 
the Americanized element does not use or know at all — the division 
within our people is but emphasized the more. 

Those who read or speak "Yiddish" only are unlikely to be as 
completely American as those who are in touch with the language 
of this land. 

Not only does the continued exclusive use of "Yiddish" create 
a gulf WITHIN the Jewish fold between those who use it and those 
who do not — but it also serves as a chasm between the old and young, 
between the parents and the children, where parents speak it while 
the younger generation naturally adopts the American (or English) 
tongue. 

Our objections to the encouragement of "Yiddish" in America 
will be met with anger by those who claim that "Yiddish is a lan- 
guage," and that it has a "literature." 

Nevertheless, we do express the firm conviction that Jewish 
good and welfare in America for the body itself and our standing as 
Americans would be bettered and strengthened by letting that com- 
pound conglomeration of "Yiddish" die and substitute English in 
place in every Jewish mouth and home, be it of native or foreign born. 

The claim that "Yiddish" is necessary to disseminate news and 
American ideals among those who do not understand English might 
be claimed with equal logic by the foreign language press of every 
other kind. 

The FIRST and VITAL American ideal is to know this country's 
language. 

Not to know it is to be placed at the mercy and to be exploited 
by those who can thereby exercise a power. It offers a possible 
misuse of power where selfish interest might dictate. 

The spread of "Yiddish" in America is injudicious. It should be 
discouraged in old and young, to emphasize the present-day spirit that 
immigrant or native, we are all one nation in America. The use of 
one accepted language will help to unify and expedite this excellent 
ideal. 



170 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



RESENTING ABUSE. 



What action shall the Jew take when insulted, is an interesting 
question? 

The children of two Jewish families in St. Louis were recently 
verbally abused by other children on the street, who applied offensive 
words to them. 

The father of the one advised his child to "punch" his offender. 
The parent of the other advised his child to not resent the epithet, 
and even went so far as to invite the offending child to a treat of 
ice cream soda, with the view (and the actual result) of winning his 
good will. We omitted to learn whether the good will was perma- 
nent. 

The child of the other did "pummel" his tormentor and won his 
respect thereby. 

Both plans appeared successful, and while they seem to be very 
trifling illustrations, they readily apply to world conditions of the 
Jew. 

For instance, in an ugly riot in New York, was the proper 
action taken by the Jewish people in resenting with violence, the 
shameful abuse of some ignorant or thoughtless hoodlums? 

Both methods above suggested seem good. But neither of them 
is right. Both are degrading. 

The Jews possess a warlike spirit, despite general belief to the 
contrary. Their history was one of many wars, and the battle spirit 
of their ancestors could be aroused to-day. 

But in the face of numbers, what would it avail? And are we 
not past the stage of resort to arms for justice? It would be inviting 
extermination. 

Neither is the sugar treatment just right. It is hypocritical. It 
is not usually done from love, but from fear. It indicates that at least 
to the aggressor, and prompts additional abuse in hopes of further 
reward, as ancient persecutions were conducted, to induce indemni- 
ties from the Jews to be let alone. 

Their offending we should contribute to misconception and mis- 
understanding of us, or to ignorance, wrong training or unjust 
teaching. 

The average individual is himself no more the source of the evil 
of Jew hatred than the destructive volcanic stone, or the inundating 
flood is the cause of its own harmfulness. 

We should act as we would against the elements. Not to strike 
back at them, or seek foolishly to placate them, but — Learn the Causes 
of them ! 

And if we find the causes, then we should work, fight and strive 
to alter or remove the causes, and the sources, which in most in- 
stances we can do by promoting the standard of general public edu- 
cation and by raising the average of Jewish life and character to its 
highest and best ideal. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 171 



BENEVOLENCE BEFORE OR AFTER DEATH? 



In dealing with the subject of benevolent giving, it seems, there 
should be a due regard to the relation of a man's resources and his 
means. 

Measured by their natural impulses some persons v^^ould give 
all they possess to relieve or ameliorate the sufferings of others. 
From lack of such sympathetic feeling, others well able to spare larger 
sums, give nothing, or about that figure. 

In short, as the equity of a tax is based on its just relation to the 
means of the person taxed, so it should be a rule that giving be ac- 
cordingly based on one's ability to give. 

On this theory, the scales will balance the widow's mite and 
Carnegie's millions. 

To circumvent Death, who may call on us without properly noti- 
fying us of his proposed visit, the needs of charity should be regarded 
before the dread visitor arrives. In giving both before and after 
one's demise, if fortune so permits, we gain the double pleasure of 
experiencing in life the joy of giving and as we sink in final slumber, 
the consolation that in death as well, humanity has been remembered. 
But the best way is to make sure of the proper use of one's appro- 
priation by giving while living. 



TAKING AN OATH. 



By what token should we know the spoken truth? 

If a man swears by the bell, the book and the candle (or as the 
Chinaman here in St. Louis would, by the head of a chicken), is it 
the celestial essence of truth telling and veracious authenticity? 

We have frequently heard a Jewish person, to impress the hon- 
esty and veracity of his statement say: "By my selig!" refer- 
ring to some departed near one. Some Christians cross their hearts. 

All of which arouses only more questioning as to what will make 
us tell the sacred truth ? 

Why should we need these external crutches, these extraneous 
monitors? 

There should be only one thing to an upright man, that should 
compel the telling of the truth, and that is : because it is the truth — 
and to a real man the truth is more sacred and more commanding and 
compelling than any sacred symbol. 



172 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



MAGNIFICENT MUNIFICENCE. 



The giving of millions to charitable and educational institutions 
is more general in our modern day than in any preceding age. An 
exceptional case of intelligent generosity, is that of Mr. David Ranken, 
Jr., of St. Louis, who endowed through a gift of $4,000,000 for the 
maintenance and establishment of a School of Mechanical Trades for 
the benefit of poor boys and young men who would learn a useful 
trade but have insufficient means to do so. 

Mr. Ranken's generosity deserves unusual appreciation from 
the fact that he has given sill that he possesses, with only a very 
small reservation for his modest daily wants. 

If one had possessed $50,000,000 and gave away $4,000,000, while 
it would be creditable, it would not be an exceptional virtue, for, it 
is presupposed, that every honorable and decent human being gives 
to charity, education or civic use a proper tithe or per cent of his 
substance and his means. They who do not, are not civilized beings. 

To give all that one possesses, withholding only a most limited 
and meager sum for one's own personal needs is not quite so cus- 
tomary. 

This is what Mr. Ranken has done, and he is to be honored, 
respected and acclaimed for his remarkable munificence. 

He has a correct notion of the value of money and the wisdom 
of his application of it must impress even the most hardened pluto- 
crat. 

The thousands of famihes which will become self-supporting 
through the ability of these young men to maintain them will bless 
his memory in later years, when those possessors of money who 
use it only for their indulgence in luxury and self-gratification will 
be dead, buried and forgotten. 

We do not know Mr. Ranken's religious affiliations, but if we 
were not of Jewish faith, which predicts justice and charity as the 
indispensable virtues of its doctrine, we would blindly become a 
convert to his faith if it makes blossom such a practical exposition 
of its sense of right. 




SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 173 



JEWISH ACHIEVEMENT. 



(Preface by A. Rosenthal to Dr. M. Silber's book of that title.) 



The world has a habit of passing over the obscure great ones who 
merely do their humble, modest, daily duties well and truly. 

The world (meaning all of us) prefers to note and to acclaim those 
distinguished men and women whom Providence has endowed with 
gifts of greatness, mental, moral, creative. 

Not altogether senselessly do we render them homage, for, have 
they not enlarged the scope of living, its worth, its pleasures and its 
splendor? 

They have increased the possibilities of life ; so has the dread of 
death been by their deeds decreased. For where is Death's sting, 
if we know man's work lives after him? What innumerable gates 
to exquisite lands have these great ones not unlocked for all the 
generations? 

There is no distinction of race or faith in letters, science, art or 
action. 

All belong to humanity at large. Yet each people prides itself 
upon its own, and to remember them, or to know of them, is not only 
a privilege and duty, but a benefit, — a heritage to be transmitted 
and increased. 

Such knowledge raises one's regard for one's people. To feel 
kinship to a Spinoza or a Mendelssohn is an incentive to aspire. The 
knowledge of the achievements recorded of Jewish m.en in the follow- 
ing pages nourishes effort and fosters emulation. 

One peculiar truth appears in this recital of Jewish achievement 
in all the many fields of human endeavor. In all their efforts and 
successes, humanity's welfare, the feeling for progress intellectual, 
moral, social and physical, are everywhere attendant, are present as 
commanding spirits urging action. 

The historical and fateful experiences and vicissitudes, glorious, 
tragic, romantic, the pains and pangs, the griefs and joys of Jewish 
faith and fate, — these are the hidden wells and secret springs that 
drive the Jew on to achievements that benefit humanity. 

He will only cease to strive when every goal shall have been 
gained, and every height shall have been scaled. That will be — never. 

Meanwhile Jewish achievements shall stimulate Jewish achieve- 
ment. 

The sum of it shall win non-Jewish reverence and respect. 

Achievement will foster, not pride in* the one nor envy in the 
other, but mutual appreciation. 

Jew and non-Jew will realize the inseparable correlation of each 
man's work to all men's work. 



174 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Although the series of sketches seem to separate Jewish from 
human achievement, the distinction is more apparent than real. At 
every point the contact and merging of Jewish achievement into the 
general stream is evident, for the Jew cannot separate himself from 
the human ocean. 

More and more the work of the Jew is today accepted, not as a 
Jewish, but, thanks to progress and civilization, as that of a man and 
a brother of his brother man. In this fact we rejoice. 

The ideal of brotherhood, its nearer approach and final consum- 
mation, will be the greatest of all Jewish achievement, the triumph of 
Jewish prophecy and faith. 



AS TO RETALIATION. 



As to the proper attitude of mind and action of an innocent 
victim of intolerance such as say the discrimination exercised against 
the Jew in modern Hfe by refusing occasionally to sell or rent to 
him or buy of him, we find opinions variable as the weather. 

Some advocate a radical, open retaliatory return in kind by boy- 
cotting, etc. Others insist that such steps merely aggravate the 
prejudice. Some would retaliate, but without publicity. Still others 
insist that both plans are vain, but most agree that in dealing with 
bigoted people the spirit of vindictiveness should not be shown, yet 
to let the irrational prejudice pass unheeded is equivalent to an 
encouragement of it. 

Some would retahate but are afraid. As one bright but mistaken 
man said to us : "The explanation of Jewish persistence has been 
in its non-resistence or rather passivity to oppression. Had the 
Jewish people actively and mihtantly opposed oppression in the 
middle ages, there would have been no Jewish people today to tell 
the tale and hope on for the future." 

Another says : "The time for passive non-resistance is past. 
We must assert our right, our equahty and standing as human beings 
in the world of men. We must fight every phase of bigotry, intol- 
erance, discrimination." 

And the third says : "We must prove the excellence of our most 
noble Jewish faith, not by the theory that prevails that tooth and 
eye must pay for tooth and eye, but we must return good for evil. 
We will not turn the other cheek if smitten on the one, but if the seed 
of shame be in the being of the one who seeks to give us pain, we will 
bring it to life by the contrast of our nobler repayment of his scurvy 
treatment of us." 

In this latter opinion we must concur. 

We know the practical man scoffs at it and calls it weak, but 
that is not the great objection. The vital obstacle to this solution 
of the problem is that we are human and to return good for evil 
is almost an attribute demanding a divinity of disposition. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 175 



NEW RABBIS AND OLD. 



Several of the long-established congregations of St. Louis have 
installed younger rabbis. The former spiritual heads have been 
taken by death or have retired. The congregations have provided 
proper honorary and financial recognition for the latter. 

It is a melancholy thought that age must wither men — but those 
who are old now, once were the young who took the places of those 
that they supplanted — or else supplemented. We must yield grace- 
fully to the inevitable. 

That a modern Jewish congregation requires men of physical 
endurance as well as spiritual power and scholarly attainments is 
a truth. 

The rare trinity of action, character and learning in one individ- 
ual is the ideal combination in a rabbi. 

If the leader is energetic in the hundred and one ways that up- 
to-date congregational activities require, is sociable, sympathetic, 
enterprising — he is viewed by many as possessing the prime requisites. 

That fine character and profound scholarship in a rabbi should be 
as vital as executive capacity would appear to be unquestioned — but 
are they ? 

We do not propose to make odious comparisons between new 
rabbis and old. 

Age, in itself, is no proof of merit, — nor youth either. Each 
leader, young or old, must prove his mettle or his quality, by achieve- 
ments and continued efiforts. 

There are ministers who shine for a while and then their lustre 
or ambition fades. There are others who gain in strength, with years. 

The danger is always present — either that the rabbi will grow 
"tired" — or his congregation will. 

It requires great tenacity, tact, talent and ability to be a "suc- 
cessful" modern rabbi. He must have large congregations and be 
able to hold their good will. 

He must keep busy instituting things. He must "pastorize." 
He must have enterprise and advertise it. He must get publicity. No 
hiding of lights under bushels, nowadays ! 

He must sense the errors of today — denouncing them. He, also, 
must know the merits of the hour — approving them. 

He should be broad, but yet not flabby — definite, but not there- 
fore narrow. He must be wise, but modest — dignified, but democratic. 
A rabbi who is either snobbish, vain, rude, proud or conceited — is a 
thing to make the angels weep and men to wish to horsewhip. 

The contrast between rabbis new and old is startling. They 
vary immensely in their views and methods. 

In the end, however, the rabbi, whether young or old, must be 
judged, not by the size of his synagogue or the number and wealth 
of his congregation, not by his eloquence, or profundity, — not even 
by his character, — but by the product of his labors, as affecting the 



176 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



clearer interpretation and perpetuation of the Jewish faith and teach- 
ing and the ennobling of the every-day life, character and moral stand- 
ards of the flock he is supposed to guide. He must be a successful 
builder of Jewish man — and womanhood. 

If he has made better men and women, strengthened Jewish be- 
lief and understanding of it — he is our rabinical ideal, whether he 
be young or old, — a modern or a man of yesterday. 

May all our younger rabbis meet this test— and elder ones as 
well ! We want them — need them — young and old ! 



WHEN YOUNG MEN MARRY. 



The opinion prevails that when a man marries he retires from 
active co-operation in community affairs as expressed in formal socie- 
ties. 

Domestic charms or obligations apparently are regarded as supe- 
rior to the claims of the educational or charitable activities of the 
community. 

This was peculiarly emphasized by a recent lady correspondent 
to the "Jewish Messenger" ; in a plea against the formation of a 
new charitable body as it would tend to keep her husband away from 
home additional to the other times that other duties necessitated his 
absence. 

The wife or family should certainly be an important consideration 
to every man. 

But the husband who lets others bear the burdens of the com- 
munity and sits at his fireside unmindful of any other thing, is either 
very selfish or thoughtless, and the wife who asks it is only little less 
so. 

For the very welfare of the family life now and in future is de- 
pendent in a hundred ways on how we adjust the external cotiditions, 
political, religious and economic. 

If we fight on the political world for principles we are advanc- 
ing the family's interests. In promoting pure and unselfish congre- 
gational and church life, we are safeguarding the family. In study- 
ing and acting on the problems of poverty and distress in a rational 
way, we are considering the family life. 

And while this argument does not mean that a man should neg- 
lect or forget his home and family it does mean that no man should 
be free from some participation in general affairs, whether it be con- 
genial to him or otherwise. 

The cold logic of argument, however, will avail little against the 
winning smile of a wife, however, and when the duty of a meeting 
calls him and the spouse of his bosom says, "O, do not go!" will love 
or duty win the day? 



THE INFINITE IN MAN. 







^vv.>'-' «" ' -- '-'^ 






(Suggested by the inspiring rescue at sea in 1909 of the steamship 
"Republic" with 1^600 people, by means of wireless telegraphy.) 



On zvaves ethereal, through Cimmerian night 

From out the Ocean's watery wilderness 
To other arks acquainting its sad plight, 

The mystic fluid spoke the ship's distress. 

O, godlike gift of mind in man 

That, like to Deity, preserved a precious freight! 
Thou tiny pigmy! zvhcnce this art to plan 

Like God, 'gainst ravening, hungry jaws of fate? 

Adorable this restless reasoning skill 

That deifies the fragile mortal shell! 
Amazed our zvonder grozvs : We thrill, — 

But long to knozv, zvhat reason zvill not tell: — 

Whence comes this zvonder marz'cl, Mind, that awes! 

Its magic opens every hidden door 
SAVE ONE! There bides the secret Essence and the Cause; 

THAT baffles and eludes it evermore. 

Eternally IT stands, aeon-long enshrined, — 

Profound and mighty Pozver that endozvs 
With genius infinite the seeking mind! 

Before THAT Mystery, Thought submissive bozvs. 

Bezvildered and perplexed perchance zve grope 

As olden creeds submerge. True faith fears naught! 

Thought zvill not zvrcck the noble ship 'Good Hope!" 
We journey on! Our souls mere truth have caught! 




MIGNON'S BIRTHDAY 




\ 




To Mignon Jeaimcttc Rosenthal — the author's daughter 



I'inie flies oit its tireless pinion 

Staying not for man or Mignon: 

Summer's sun and zvinter's wet 

Wait not on our dear Jeanette, 

She has grozvn so fair and tall, 

Has our Mignon Rosenthal, 

That it seemeth like a dream 

That she was a babe zvhose scream 

Brought the neighbors to the door! 

Now she sings from "Pinafore" 

Sings of "sisters, cousins, aunts" 

Sings from "Pirates of Penzance" 

Airs from sprightly, bright "Mikado" 

Do, re, mi, fo, sol, la, si, do. 

Plays piano and Shakespeare — 

Sells thrifts stamps, loves pere and mere,- 

Goes to college — and to shows. 

To the Red Cross, too, she goes 

But zvith every added year 

To our hearts she grows more dear. 

In our ups or in our downs 

Whether fortune smiles or frozvns 

LOVE holds fast! — 'Though years go on 

Always be our dear MIGNON! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 177 

JEWISH PEOPLE, GRAPE-JUICE AND WINE. 



Some needless excitement has been created by a special ruling of 
the Internal Revenue Department allowing Jewish families ten gallons 
of wine a year because of ceremonial observances in which wine has 
heretofore been used in Jewish homes. 

The permission is hedged around with so many rigid restrictions 
and formalities that it is doubtful whether any consderable number of 
Jewsh families will avail themselves of the special "privilege." 

To the large body of intelligent Jewish people in America the use 
of unfermented grape juice will serve every ceremonial purpose. The 
grace said at the Sanctification ("Kiddush") simply says : "Blessed be 
thou, O Lord, our God, Creator of the fruit of the vine." 

There is nothing said herein that requires it to be fermented. It 
is only the extremist among us who would question the validity of any 
ceremonial on such a flimsy ground as that the fruit of the vine was 
the juice of the grape without artificial fermentation ! 

Wine was popular in olden times because Palestine then had and 
now has viticulture as an industry of large proportion. 

To the broad-minded Jewish people of America, including those of 
St, Louis, there is no desire to have any special concession made to them. 
We Jewish people want to be treated just exactly as other Americans, 
NO BETTER AND NO WORSE. 

We Jewish people believe the American watchword of EQUAL- 
ITY should apply even in the illogical statute of Prohibition ! 

The Jewish people regard Prohibition as a mistaken idea, believing 
rather in education and regulaton of the use of drink and diet. 

While Jewish law sanctioned the use of liquor it is a known fact 
that drunkenness was the exception among the Jewish people. This 
might evidence the fact and truth that total abstinence, prohibition or 
compulsory deprivation is not the only way to prevent excess and in- 
ebriety. 

Jewish folk will drink grape-juice till Prohibition is repealed. 

The religious spirit of Judaism is not dependent on the per cent 
of spirit in its wine. Judaism does not emphasize forms and ceremonies, 
but rather the everlasting principles of justice, honor and benevolence. 




178 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



A NAUGHTY NEIGHBOR. 



An esteemed subscriber complains of the actions of one of her 
neighbors, whose anti-Jewish prejudice is so deeply rooted that he will 
not even bow or act as any friendly neighbor should. 

If he professes Christianity, how can he reconcile it with the noble 
teaching in the Old Testament which Christ accepted : "Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself." 

If he is an American citizen, how does he harmonize the sane doc- 
trine enunciated by the founders in the phrase "Liberty and Equality." 
What does "democracy" mean, if not the forgetting of artificial dif- 
ferences and diversity of faiths? 

If he is intelligent (how one can be intelligent and prejudiced at one 
and the same time is a mystery), his mind should tell him that he is as 
mortal as his Jewish neighbor, as prone to sin, to suffering and to death. 

Doesn't his reason, if he uses it at all, suggest to him as it should to 
all of us, that life is little and short enough at best, without embittering 
or spoiling it for others and ourselves, by rancor, bigotry and hateful 
prejudice? 

Is it not a far greater joy and gain to meet the fellowman on 
friendly terms, to make life's minutes happier for him and one's self, 
by courtesy and fellowship, by neighborly good-will and cheerful words ? 



WAGNER AND MEYERBEER. 



Musicians have a record as beings of strange combinations. 

One illustration of this thought comes to us as we listen to the 
majestic musical might displayed by Wagner in his "Valkyrie" and 
other music dramas. 

This same great Wagner confessed in his lifetime that when 
downcast and desperate he left his land for Paris, penniless and 
friendless, with his family, it was a Jewish composer, one Meyerbeer, 
to whom he owed his salvation as a friend in need. 

Yet this same Wagner later in his writings spoke unkindly and 
with base ingratitude of his erstwhile benefactor. 

We cannot expect, of course, that those whose genius and ac- 
complishments in art, invention or philanthropy should likewise be 
vouchsafed the same superiority in moral as in mental make-up, but 
it jars our feelings none the less to be told of such weakness in those 
whom we reverence for their contributions to the fund of humanity's 
knowledge, joy and progress. 




SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 179 

THE LYNCHING OF LEO FRANK. 



The murder of Leo Frank has about equally shared the world's 
attention with the murder-war in Europe. 

Enough has been written on the subject to fill a library. The 
dominant note of all the writings is the glaring injustice and cruelty 
of it — done by men professing to call themselves America's best 
citizens. 

As one pointed out, not uneducated ignorant immigrants did it, 
but "Americans," so-called. 

A jury, in three minutes, finds that it finds nothing! They are 
also "Americans," so-called. 

We find it difficult to believe that any action will be taken to 
avenge the crime. 

Retribution will come to Georgia in the general and inevitable 
loss of confidence, prestige and respect, that such laxity of law and 
callousness invite. 



THE RADICAL RABBI. 



A rabbi in Brooklyn whose views were too radical to suit the 
president of his congregation, was unceremoniously ousted. The 
rabbi quite naturally and consistently objects to such procedure 
and snap judgment. The edifying spectacle of a rabbi at war with 
his officials, and the membership divided into two camps is pre- 
sented to the country. 

The principle that is most widely preached and the least prac- 
ticed nowadays is that of freedom of opinion. 

Why a rabbi (or a layman) may not express himself according 
to his conscience or conviction, is a mystery — but yet 'tis so, as 
here we see. 

This rabbi may have said some very radical things. What if 
he did? He does not commit any person but himself. If his ad- 
vanced views are logical, he has a right to any approbation or 
adherents they may gain. If his views are fanatic, faulty or so- 
phistical, they will not receive support or only temporary sanction. 

No congregation, officer, priest, minister or rabbi has a right to 
stifle freedom of thought any more than a government has author- 
ity to arbitrarily check the opinions of its citizens. 

Thought is free. Expression of opinion is equally in accord 
with every concept of true liberty. 

The sooner everyone agrees to this, the nearer we will be to 
genuine democracy and freedom. 

To suppress liberty of thought and speech is to invite con- 
spiracy and revolution. Repression is not remedy. 

Ousting a rabbi for his radical views is poor business, as much 
so as barring duly elected representatives to the New York Assem- 
bly. . It wins nothing and violates a vital principle. 



180 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



EDUCATION VERSUS AUTOMOBILES. 



The daughter of Mr. J. H. won an automobile in a subscription 
contest. 

Most parents and daughters would rejoice mightily in such a 
stroke of luck. 

Instead of appreciating the possesion of one of these modern 
Juggernauts, the H. family actually prefer a higher educational course 
for their daughter in some superior institute as a substitute prize, 
and contemplate the disposition of the horseless vehicle for the pur- 
pose of giving the daughter educational advantages for the money 
equivalent. 

Education preferred to an automobile? And by Jewish par- 
ents for their daughter? 

This does not bear out the charge that Jewish folk prefer display 
and the more worldly things of life, does it? 

Soon we may be hearing that people want culture and refinement 
rather than money! (Not just yet, dear reader, but soon — perhaps.) 

Now, why should anyone prefer an education to an automobile? 

You sit in an automobile of your own — and presto ! you imagine 
you are more than anyone else ! You sit in an automobile of your 
own and somehow nature seems to have made mere pedestrians who 
simply interfere at every step with your fleet speeding. You sit in 
your own automobile and it propels itself — without an effort on your 
part ! 

Now. education is different. Real education, unlike the auto- 
mobile, makes you feel how small a factor you really are in the 
cosmos of the universe. Education (real education) compels you to 
reahze that all your fellowmen and women are kin and their interests 
are your own, their sufferings and wrongs, their joys and blessings, 
also yours. 

Education (genuine education) unlike the automobile, means 
effort all along the line. There is no automatic mechanism to re- 
place your earnest thought, no rubber tires to lessen the friction of 
ideas coming in contact with accepted customs. 

And of what value is an education compared to an automobile 
when hfe is so short and art and learning are so long? 

Hadn't the winners better consider this giving up the auto for 
higher education? When they see how little many people value 
education, they might want their auto back. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 181 

THE ART OF KALICH. 



Where does nature end and art begin in Bertha Kalich's playing? 

Art is study and acquired. Genius is natural and innate. 

No amount of zealous study could create a genius if the natural 
capacity and power were wanting. 

Bertha Kalich's art is a perfect welding of her native gifts with the 
severe restrictions that culture and thought impose. 

The savage fury threatening every moment to erupt, is there. 
We feel it while she checks and hides it till it leaps at last out of her 
own control. That is art ! 

Yet to display this passion there must be in her a nature that can 
be furious. We cannot conceive a tranquil, passionless, amiable "Amelia" 
as in "Vanity Fair," being able to ever mimic such a tragic mood as when 
Kalich plays, "The Riddle: Woman." 

It is by no accident that Rachel, Bernhardt and Kalich (what a 
Jewish trio!) are pre-eminent in tragic passion of the theatre. 

The Jewish generations that preceded them and of which they are 
exponents, gave them their stock of grief. Through Jewish tragedy they 
inherited the genius and the power of depicting tragic feeling and emotion. 

In their blood is the martyr-blood of the bloody Past. What in the 
Present is a dramatic expression of a great artist is the flickering after- 
glow of what once was a world-drama of age-long oppression, a tragedy 
that we now hope is ending for all time. 



PRIESTS, PRELATES AND PRESIDENTS 



The King and Queen of Belgium, Cardinal Mercier and the 
President of the Irish Republic (to be) visited Saint Louis this week. 

This history of Israel records various kings, priests and judges 
probably the equivalent of presidents who ruled and misruled, guided 
well and guided ill, while they were a people not yet identified with 
and assimilated with the modern nations of the earth. 

Today potentates, priests and even presidents signify nothing to 
us as Jews or as Americans — unless they possess something more 
than the titles. Today a king must earn respect, a minister of religion 
must earn esteem, a president must earn appreciation. 

The King of the Belgians is honored for his manly qualities not 
his title, the Queen for her womanly virtues, not her coronet. Cardinal 
Mercier for his heroism not his papal post, DeValera as the figure 
of a people striving to be free. 

We have passed the period when royal, priestly, ministerial or 
official place affect us — unless they are accompanied by the great 
virtues that, from Biblical days till now and until humanity shall 
disappear, will always move us — the splendid attributes of noble kind, 
of wisdom or of valor that ordinary human beings can possess. 



182 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

WHAT GOOD MOTHERS MEAN. 



The death of any good mother should be regarded as more than a 
private grief. 

The unit of our social fabric is the family. The center of the famil)) 
is the good mother. A broken family is an injured social unit. 

The strength or weakness of its units determines the force or the 
impotence of a community. 

So long as the family, and not the individual, is the recognized unit 
of society, so long v^ill good mothers be truly mourned, for they are 
the fire of the centrifugal sun that holds the constellation of our civili- 
zation in its rational course. 

The passing of a good mother is a loss, public as much as personal. 

Imagine a world without good mothers ! You would have a picture 
of a chaos, an inferno, a cheerless vacuum, where love, devotion, order, 
sacrifice and hope would be entirely absent and unknown. Who'd care 
to live in such a world ! 



A BOTTOMLESS PIT. 



Eight million men are dead or w^ounded. 

Ten million are reported starving. Hundreds of thousands of 
these killed, wounded and starving ones are Jewish. 

The toll of death by this abominable and atrocious w^ar is but 
the partial, perhaps lesser, horror of its record. 

The bottomless pit of wretchedness that no millions of money 
seem able to ameliorate, the suffering, degradation chaos and con- 
cussion, breaking of home and community ties — all these after-phases 
of the carnage make the world spectator shudder and despair. 

There is call for endless giving. With each new generosity 
come fresh eruptions that demand relief. The fabled fortunes of 
Croesus and Midas, both combined, could touch only a part of all 
the suffering. 

The sum total of it all will never be known. This much we do 
know — that if the Devil himself had arranged it all the result could 
not have been more to his satisfaction. 

In every country woe — and woe exceeding woe. Yet no one can 
cry "Peace!" because the senseless madness is yet raging and the 
folly is yet drunk with reckless rage. 

Has the pit no bottom? 




SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 183 



THE LADY AT THE DOOR. 



A "lady," according to the definition of many, is a woman who, 
besides possessing mind and culture, has also a decided regard for 
the feelings of others, even if these others happen to be fellow beings, 
who, lacking large check books of their own, are compelled to solicit 
for this or that article at the doors of their more fortunate sisters. 

How few of our so-called ladies exercise this excellent quality of 
consideration for those who come to their doors? The average 
society "lady" will have her servant slam the door in the face of the 
modest and courteous solicitor, whether it be a lady or a gentleman. 
The average society "lady" will not hesitate to tell the "white lie" 
that she is "not at home" or, if she listens at all, will give a rude 
refusal instead of declining with gentleness or courtesy if the inability 
to buy or the lack of need compels refusal. 

Yes, we know all about tke hundred and one vexations of the 
household, and we realize that there are more than ten solicitors a 
day at every home, that they soil the front doorsteps, etc., and we 
have a perception that the average solicitor's requests have no im- 
portance to "those solicited." 

But if we consider that each of those fellow beings who is solicit- 
ing, though it be only for a trifling thing, is seeking thereby to make 
an honest livelihood for herself, himself, or possibly for a dependent 
family, what then? 

Wq are sure that no man or woman (for our remarks apply as 
well to men in business), can harmonize discourteous treatment of 
solicitors with any theory of religion or culture that they may happen 
to imagine they possess. 

To our mind the very fact of any such treatment would be a posi- 
tive indication that there was neither culture, refinement or religion. 

One need not permit oneself to be bored by thoughtless solicitors 
who may not know the value of time, but it is always possible to dis- 
miss them with a courteous or kindly word, instead of with the rude 
and barbarous treatment that one would not give a dog. 

One httle thought would probably keep the wealthy man or 
woman from exercising his or her rudeness. It is "How fortunate 
that it is I who am solicited and not the solicitor !" 

But, then, how many people with money ever think? 



A fire in a church caused the worshipers to flee. Strange that 
the fear of fire after death should bring some people to church, and the 
fire before death drive them away from its portals. 



In the City Directory the idealist's hopes are realized. There is 
no separation or distinction between Jew and non-Jew, rich and poor, 
white and colored — in the City Directory. 



184 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

RUSSIA IN 1920. 



Russia is getting recognition. 

The question of trade and commerce may be very vital to Russia 
as well as to the other nations, but with us the greater interests centers 
on the amazing transformation in that land in matters of religious 
tolerance. 

Russia today is freer in religious tolerance than any other country. 
There is no established creed. There is no persecution on account of 
faith ! 

Think of it — in Russia! In Russia, where the Jew was once mobbed 
and massacred for his belief there is now religious freedom ! 

If this is true of Russia, it will undoubtedly extend to other lands 
where the bad habit of intolerance still prevails. 

If Russia — once a Jewish hell — can be completely changed, as it 
has been, why should we ever yield to pessimism or despair? — 



HEALING BY FAITH 



The merit of stimulating the spirit or the will over bodily weak- 
ness is a principle that the most hardened materialist can sanction, 
conscientiously. That those of weak will can be strengthened in 
determination by the stronger minded, be they lay or ministerial, 
should be readily conceded by every rational mind. 

To invoke the supernatural, the mystic or a direct "mediumship" 
between "God" and the ailing, suffering mortal is in contradition 
with enlightened Jewish thought and the fundamental principles of 
Judaism. 

In mediaeval days, among the ignorant of Jewish folk there may 
have been such men as "wonder-rabbis." For aught we know, such 
"wonder-rabbis" still perform their "miracles" in obscure corners 
of communities where yet the bright light of modern thinking has 
not penetrated. 

Where logical intelligence prevails and faith in purest, highest 
form predominates, cure for disease is sought in physical nature, 
plus such rational stimulation of will and cheerfulness as will ex- 
pedite the bodily return to health. 




IINIIIIIIOIUinilllirDHIIIIHItHBIttinHnilBmilHtHtlDIIHIIIHIirailllllllllllDIUIHill 

IN LIGHTER VEIN 

iifiiiiiiauiiiiniiiiDiuiuutuiDiiuiiiiiiiiainiiuiiiiiaiuuHiiiiiotuiiuiiinauiiHiiii 
THE MAYOR OF TOLEDO. 




(Note — The Editor has been charged with writing too seriously. 
He is trying this as a lighter theme, but fears he has made a sorry 
mess of it. — Ed. M. V.) 



The mayor of Toledo, Ohio, is a Jew. Sad to say, he is also a 
bachelor ! 

That he is Jewish may seem to some to be deplorable, but that he 
is a bachelor must be, in feminine eyes, surely a calamity, if not an 
unforgivable offense. 

That he will persist in remaining staunchly Jewish we have every 
reason to believe — but the sooner that he ends the twin, but dubious, 
distinction of being a bachelor, the greater will be the appreciation 
he will gain — perhaps. Judaism does not teach or preach single 
"blessedness," but the reverse. 

A bachelor is a popular object with all ladies in general and with 
none in particular. Shall this Jewish mayor of Toledo jeopardize the 
good will of the many by selecting one — even though thereby he find 
a genuine excuse for his existence? Has he the necessary valor — and 
the income? 

Perhaps the Jewish mayor of Toledo figures that no man can serve 
at the same time the public welfare and a wife. Some men can dance 
with anybody but their wife ! 

We have heard of wives who interfere with their husband's going 
out to meetings four or five times a week, even though such meetings 
are "very important." Some wives are "so selfish." Rather than pain 
his cherished spouse and defying her in the interest of public business, 
by absenting himself from the family fireside, this clever Jewish mayor 
of Toledo solves the knotty problems by not having a wife — at least 
not till his official term is done. 

Then, perhaps, he may give up his position as a servant of the 
people and become, instead, a serva*"* — pardon ! A loving and affec- 
tionate pater familias ! 

Supposing, however, that after his term as mayor expires, he 
should be chosen to higher office — would he marry? 

But, what higher office could a good man hope to hold than to 
become a worthy husband of a loving and devoted wife? 

Instead of discharging inefficient or unfaithful men under him, 
he will discharge faithfully the combined duties of janitor and pay- 
master in the home. 

Instead of heeding the behest of sundry petty political "bosses" 
he will obey but one — dear voice that of his chosen mate ! 



186 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Instead of catering to the fickle public for their temporary supf 
ficial popularity — he will try for a higher, if more difficult but more 
enduring prize to win the admiration of his wife ! 

"To lead — oh" — such a happy married life, any Toledo mas )t 
any other, should most gladly and unhesitatingly renounce all manaer 
of political ambition. 

"Let the bachelors do it !" might be a good slogan to adopt in 
politics, unless, of course, with widespread woman's suffrage universal, 
men could stay at home and knit ! 

In that case there would be even less excuse to be a bacaelor^ 
for the Jewish mayor of Toledo or for any other amiable gentleman. 

It seems to us that the next platform in Toledo, Ohio, might be : 
"Shall the mayor be a married man?" — or this (which is not the 
same), "Shall a married man be mayor?" 

That kind of a platform ought to bring out the full vote of newly 
enfranchised womanhood, wedded and single, irrespective or weather 
or conflicting, seductive bargain sales. 

The result would temporarily distract the world's disturbed at- 
tention from the interesting and unusual price of eggs and butter, or 
even such a secondary trivial matter as the results of the Conference 
of Peace, the influenza or the fate of the former German emperor! 



BETTER BABIES. 



It must be a great satisfaction to the Jewish mothers, who par- 
.ticipated in the "Better Babies Contest," to know the exact scientific, 
anatomical measurements of their precious darlings in inches and half- 
inches, pounds and ounces of height, weight, circumference of chest, 
circumference of abdomen, diameter of chest from front to back, taken 
by calipers at level of nipple line ; length of arm from acromion's 
process to tip of middle finger and length of leg from greater 
trochanter to the sole of the foot ! 

Babies grow so fast, however, that, as we write, perhaps the 
measurements as recorded, have all changed already — hopefully to- 
ward perfection ! 

Baby shows have progressed from a mere contest of baby beauty 
to one of physical perfection. Is there any possilMlity of proceeding to 
a still higher contest of moral excellence in infants? Or, have babies 
no morals? Are they non-moral? 

If facial beauty is but skin-deep and yields to physical robustness 
in importance, it may follow "as the night the day" that physical 
powers are in their turn, secondary to the moral qualities, even in 
babies. 

What is physical beauty or strength to the merit of moral 
strength and beauty? Who would prefer a pretty baby to a healthy 
baby or a bad healthy baby to a good, "noble" little baby? 

We are learning, through Better Baby contests, Dottoressa Mon- 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 187 



tesorri, and other ways to raise a crop of healthier, and consequently, 
happier babies. 

Now, if we only knew how to develop an universal yield of morally 
good, virtuously inclined, spiritually super-excellent and immaculate 
babies irrevocably opposed to evil, despite temptational environment 
and unkind heritage, what an accretion to our growing knovvdedge of 
childhood and sprouting adolescence that would be ! How it would 
simplify our future and our present problems ! 

We might give I per cent for innocence, 5 points for gentleness, 
5 points for modesty, 15 points for industry, 20 points for sympathy, 25 
for loyalty, fidelity and constancy, and all the balance for veracity and 
unselfishness! What a task the judges would have to be sure! 

Now if it was grown folk instead of babies — how easy it would 
be to pick the winners — 100 per cent morally sound I 



WHO ATE THE APPLE? 



Some recent archaeological researches trace the tradition of the 
eating of the apple of knowledge. They assert that instead of Adam 
in the Garden of Eden, tempted by Eve — the gastronomic indulgence 
was another feat of Noah. He is said to have eaten the prohibited 
fruit after the flood had subsided and he had disembarked safely, 
but hungry, from the Ark. No one tempted him, except the rosy 
cheeked apple itself. 

That "Arkeological" researches should make the Ark-hero the 
central figure of the legend is logical. 

It is not quite fair, however, to lay the added burden of the 
apple trouble on poor Noah, for he had sufficient sorrows from the 
juice of the luscious grape, if we remember rightly. (Prohibition 
at that time was against the apple, but not the grape. Now it is re- 
versed !) 

Who ate the ancient apple may seem serious to some. To us 
the present high price of apples today is far more interesting. 

The apple of knowledge that we would like to eat today is one 
that would give us some knowledge of the causes of the present 
abnormal cost of living, and their quick solution. 

Such an apple of knowledge might transform our present pur- 
gatory nearer to a modern Eden, where the Adams and Eves of our 
era could exist and live in peace and plenty without the fear and 
trembling that the flaming sword of necessity will drive us out 
tomorrow ! 



188 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



LEVINSKY BEATS COFFEY. 



We are coming into our own. 

True, the Jewish people have contributed sages, philosophers, 
artists, musicians — aye, even redeemers — to the world, but still it 
fails of fullest recognition. 

Perhaps the news that "Levinsky Beats Coffey" will help us to 
regain partly our due and appreciation. 

Who is Levinsky? Why, Levinsky is the light heavyweight of 
Philadelphia and Tuesday's daily press resounded with the glorious 
news that he had outfought and outboxed the "Dublin Giant" Jimmy 
Coffey in a ten round bout ! 

We presume Levinsky is a Jewish name and that the pugilistic 
bearer of it is a Jew, perhaps descended from the militant Maccabaean 
heroes, for is he not a hero in the modern eye? 

May we not crave the boon of just a little of the reflected glory 
of Levinsky's victory? Where our seers and prophets may not win 
us the respect and the regard of the multitude, perhaps a few more 
pugnacious triumphs like that of our Levinsky may induce us the 
consideration that logic, justice and world service has thus far failed 
,to invite ! 



A SHATTERED HOPE. 



Two weeks ago we were rejoicing because "Battling Levinsky," a 
Jewish pugilist, had bested the "Dublin giant," Jimmy Coffey. 

How poor is human vanity ! How brief is every temporal delight ! 
Nothing stays. 

This week comes the sad intelligence that Levinsky — Levinsky in 
whom we had reposed such great expectations and such ardent hopes — 
Levinsky of Philadelphia, is conquered — "punched" — otherwise "knocked 
out," by the 162-pound "California kid," Bob McAllister! Alas! Alas! 

Once again we must resume our faith in the spiritual pre-eminence 
of Judaism and Jewish men : 

Our shattered hopes must find resignation in the glory of justice 
and mercy of the nobleness of Jewish righteousness and honor, of 
simple moral duty and Jewish benevolence rather than the mere cham- 
pionship of muscle and of fisticuffs. 

The hard blow we have sustained (because Levinsky's blows were 
not hard enough) must be softened by the consoling recollection of 
Jewish leaders and our lofty luminaries in the realms of faith, martyr- 
dom, philosophy and science, history, literature and art. 

In them we will find our solace and our anodyne for the catastrophe 
of Battling Levinsky's sad debacle. Goodbye, then, to Levinsky and the 
heavyweight championship ! The heavyweight is on our heart instead 
of on his belt ! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 189 

AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 



There is always a pleasure in meeting an old acquaintance. Where 
the gentleman is not even a friend it is interesting to meet him. Any- 
one with whom we have been identified, even though it be in the 
distant past, is of interest to us. 

We therefore hail with earnest and sincere regard the interesting 
information that comes from the Globe of London that a mummy, 
said to be that of the Pharaoh who drove the Israelites out of Egypt, 
has been added to the assembly in the Hall of Kings in the Museum 
in Cairo. 

Our pleasure at thus greeting an "auld" acquaintance is naturally 
intensified by the fact that we meet him in the form of a mummy 
rather than at the zenith of his power which, according to tradition, 
he administered rather unkindly towards our ancestors in Egypt. 

If we reflect upon the matter we might almost regret that we 
cannot meet the monarch (whose name bears such a striking remem- 
blance to the companion game of poker) in a living form, for various 
reasons. 

In the first place, of course, we would have a natural curiosity to 
ask him whether the recorded incident of his pursuit of the Israelites 
through the Red Sea was accurately chronicled by the reportorial 
writers of his day, or whether, like our Mr. Wellman's "transatlantic" 
trip and other startling happenings of our time, the dramatic details 
that have so bewildered many modern minds were merely distorted 
or imagined by some fledgling reporter who had just been given a 
place on the staff of the Egyptian "Post-Dispatch." 

In his present state of a mere mummy, silence will be the only 
answer that we can expect. While silence usually gives consent, 
we would hardly be satisfied with it in this case, the question being of 
such great moment. 

We also regret that the majestic monarch, who now after a 
lapse of so many centuries rests in a permanent sleep in a modern 
museum, is not able to meet us in order that we might extend our 
thanks to him, for, again reflecting on the subject, the Exodus of the 
Jew from Egypt was after all an advantage to Jews just as (if we 
are to believe the Bible tradition) the banishment from the Garden 
was a benefit to Adam and Eve in that it gave them the joy of labor- 
ing for their bread instead of living in idleness and indolence that 
leads to sin and that is a sin even in Paradise. It was only after the 
Tew had left Egypt that his real career as a notable people and as a 
world-wonder began. 

It was after Pharaoh had driven the Jew from his realm that the 
Bible records the acquisition of the Commandments. It is only 
natural that the real life of a nation, as of an individual, begins when 
he meets with difficulty, with obstacles, with hardships and with 



190 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



problems. Then comes the test of his mettle. Then comes the trial 
by fire, and then by his manner of passing through the ordeal it is 
learned whether his make-up is dross or the genuine gold. 

No, we bear no hard feelings against our old acquaintance, Pha- 
raoh of Egypt, for it is an old truth that even our worst enemies have 
sometimes proven themselves unconsciously our best friends in that 
they have compelled us to realize our strength and use it. 

Poor Pharaoh ! Think of what he has missed ! He never heard 
a ragtime song, he never saw a picture-show, a hobble-skirt or peach- 
basket hat. He never heard of Roosevelt or Elbert Hubbard. He 
never knew the meaning of an airship or an auto ! Poor Pharoah ! 

Here's to the good health of Pharoah and all the enemies of man- 
kind ! May they all be well preserved to a deathless old age — as 



mummies m a museum 



COHEN IN NEW YORK. 



The city directory of New York shows that there are more 
COHNS than SMITHS, according to the latest compilation. It 
might be an interesting experiment to send "A Message to Cohn" in 
New York as once a famous article was written in sending "A Message 
to Garcia." It would indeed be a test of a wit and initiative and 
have a messenger locate a specific Cohn of the 8600 that are listed 
in the New York city directory. 

A misdirected package would have some time in reaching its 
proper owner. We wonder whether any system of numbering will 
become necessary if the increase in the Cohns continues in New York 
if this keeps on. It might be the easiest way of solving the problem 
to have each Cohn numbered, instead of having initials. There are 
only twenty-six letters in the alphabet while numbers could run up 
into millions without a duplication. 

The young ladies of this immense family of Cohns have one 
advantage over the gentlemen. They may change their names when 
they marry. Even that prospect is uncertain, for what if they marry 
someone by the name of Cohn, as they most likely will if this increase 
in that cognomen continues? 

We trust our innocent raillery will not be taken unkindly. We 
are surely not anti-Semitic, but it does seem to us that the situation 
must certainly create confusion and misunderstanding for which there 
does not seem any present or prospective solution. 

As the Smiths, however, have lived through their handicap suc- 
cessfully thus far, perhaps the Cohns will do as well. We hope so. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 191 

FEMININE EDUCATION. 

Some cynics doubt the intellectual advancement of our ladies. This in- 
cident may give them thought. 

It was on the street car. Six oclock. Crowded to the brim — as 
usual. 

In front of the editor, who wonderful to relate, had actually gained 
a seat, sat a young lady deeply engrossed in the book that she was reading. 

Passengers entered, passengers alighted. The lady read on. 

Passengers paid their fares and some did not The lady read on. 

A blockade of wagons stopped the car, but not the lady's reading. 

A collision was barely averted, but it could not divert our lady's 
intellectual application. 

Ladies with the latest specimens of millinery entered. That, the 
pessimist would say, would surely take her eye. 

Our lady's lids did not waver from her look upon the book. 

A justifiable curiosity now overpowers us. We must learn the 
name of this book. Can it be the Bible? 

Surely not Shakespeare? Possibly a poet? Bah ! Who reads poetry 
now? 

Well, then, was it a fascinating tale of love and romance? Surely 
nothing else? 

Nay, gentle reader. Not religion, not philosophy, not poetry — not 
even love's romance had thralled our twentieth-century heroine of today. 

The book was— the book was, "THE LATEST SCIENTIFIC 
RULES OF WHIST!" 

How wonderful a piece of work is woman ! 

In life's great game she is the chiefest prize — but no wonder Eve 
grew weary of her Eden, without whist! 



THE PRIZE WINNER. 



We breathe again. The agony is over. The prize of the "Post- 
Dispatch" for the most beautiful feminine hands in St. Louis has been 
awarded ! 

The first prize was awarded (for which be Allah eternally praised!) 
to a girl who does housework ! When the news came to her she had just 
concluded washing, with the said lovely, prize-winning hands, the paint 
of six rooms of the home into which the family had just moved. 

We shudder as we reflect on the possible consequences to sweethearts, 
sisters and wives, if, instead of the household worker, some lady of the 
leisure class, some sentimental pianiste, some simpering stenographer or 
stage-struck star, to whom housework is an ogre, had won the coveted 
distinction. 

A catastrophe has been averted. 

"Handsome is as handsome does," has a new, an added significance. 

Crown her with laurels ! Heap high the honors ! — to the Household 
Heroine, the Lady of the Dishes, of the Dinner, of the Dwelling — who 
wins, — hands down ! 

Hands up to her ! She is not only the prize-winner — she is the prize 
itself ! — and he that wins her is a real prize-winner ! 



192 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



"CANNED" SERMONS. 



At first blush it seems a sort of sacrilege to have the pulpit oc- 
cupied by phonographs. 

At second blush, however, it does not seem so odd, for is not 
many a pulpit of both church and synagogue now occupied by a human 
phonograph, that utters the same series of "records" alternated in a 
given course of time, as automatically and with just as little heart as 
any graphophone ? 

Of course, there is a difference. The human talking machine in 
the pulpit is paid a salary (often elaborate) for his "reproducing" 
eloquences, so mechanically rendered, while the modest mechanical 
machine gets no recognition, financial or otherwise. 

It is surprising that the pulpit as a profession will permit the 
competition of phonographs. 

There is a grave danger that they may supplant the preacher 
and take away his occupation — and his bread and butter ! 

If this menace to the ministry is to be checked, it should be 
nipped in the bud — now — while the innovation is in its infancy. 
The "canned sermon" must be "canned," if it can ! 

If it is only political speeches that were to be delivered to us 
"canned," in the vulgar term, we might cheer up with fortitude and 
even say "Amen," — for who expects or looks for soul, sincerity or 
honest zeal in average political practitioners? 

In the pulpit we look for something loftier, although we often 
— ah ! too often — fail to get it ! 



MODERN PARTNERSHIPS. 



Partnerships in business between Jewish and non-Jewish men 
are not unusual. Their number is growing. 

The idea is good. Such partnerships may be accepted as omens 
of the developed understanding and reciprocated trust between men 
of divided faith, but who are on single standards of business, honor 
and integrity. 

"Isaacs and McCarthy" or "Jones and Levy" or "Jacobson and 
Smith" may seem a trifle humorous to shallow minds. They may 
furnish the material for a comic quip in newspapers, but taken seri- 
ously they indicate that the false barriers between men are all but 
battered down. 

When men unite their energies for their mutual gain, even be 
it only a business enterprise, religious variance must take a secondary 
place. If these co-partnerships in business between Jew and non- 
Jew increase, as they will, and prosper as they should, it will be 
another avenue through which irrational sectarian separation will be 
lessened and reduced, to the good of all concerned, and make easier 
the finer partnerships of unselfish labors, civic, charitable, educational. 




IN MODERN PALESTINE 




^ 




f^':^-ri 




THE EGYPTIAN MAIDEN 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 193 



IN MEMORIAM. 
(R. I. M.) 



What war-lord or little despot of the world has any might, com- 
pared to Death ? 

Ruthlessly Death reaps. 

Too often, as in the special case of this lamented and departed dear 
one, he chooses cherished beings who are inseparably intertwined with 
those of others, by the unbreakable ties of friendship and affection, 
sentiment and love. 

Useless is the effort to understand either Life or Death ! 

The futility of words, the feebleness of finite comprehension of the 
the Infinite we know. We bow, unwillingly, rebelliously, perhaps, to 
the sad inevitable. 

Vain is the grieving and the tearful lamentation! Pitiful are all 
of the unanswered cries of many hearts for a lost and precious pres- 
ence ! 

Remembrance remains. 

Memory — in the case of this departed life — pictures a pleasant, 
whole-souled, noble woman, a busy, useful, loyal wife, a self-sacrificing, 
loving mother, a dear devoted daughter and a considerate, kindly sister. 

Duty, service and high principles were not empty words to her. 

She realized, in full, the worth and work, the powers and the possi- 
bilities of truest Jewish womanhood. 

She bore her physical suffering bravely. She was practical, but not 
at the expense of finer feelings. The value of religion, education, art 
and ideas she understood, appreciated and applied. 

Her dear ones, and those who knew her, may regard themselves 
as more than fortunate in having had the special privilege of her good 
influence upon their lives. 

They should not think of her as dead, but only as one peacefully 
reposing in a slumber where there is neither pain nor sorrow nor 
vexation. 

The husband mourns a loving, helpful mate and home-maker. The 
children miss a counselor and friend who cannot be replaced. The aged 
father is deprived of a fond and filial child. The sisters sorrow for their 
comrade and companion and a multitude of friends bewail the broken 
bond. 

Broken, did we say? The strand of recollection, woven by virtue 
and merit, kindness and unselfishness, not even Death, the implacable 
and relentless one, can sever or destroy. In this only do we triumph 
over Death. 

Beyond the veil and mystery of that toward which we all approach, 
is the esteem, the veneration, the regard that welds the fellowships of 
life, infinitesimal atoms though we be, into a strong and indestructible 
chain. 

The tears that now rain over her will fructify the rosebush of re- 
membrance. Its loveliness and fragrance will soften the woe and the 
heartache and perfume Memory with a tender solace. 



194 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



The rosebush will grow fair and fairer. The years will but add 
to its beauty, for the memory of a rare and radiant life is immortal and 
blooms forever — beyond the day of death. 
The stream of her good life is past, but 
"Deposited upon the silent shore 
Of memory, images and precious thoughts 
Remain, that shall not die, and cannot be destroyed." 



AN APPRECIATION. 
(To the Memory of L. G.) 



A noble specimen of Jewish manhood passed away when Lewis 
Godlove left us forever. Death took in him, a shining mark. In 
him, combined were character and culture. He was refined — a genial 
soul of intellectual mold. 

His heart was sympathetic, feelingful and true. His hand was 
generous and open. His mind was liberal, kind and free. His sym- 
pathies were manifold. 

He toiled devotedly and faithfully for his beloved wife, the 
children and the home. He served mankind at large in many 
ways, but chiefly in the fine example that he set of honor, modest 
merit, moral worth and gentleness ! No one spoke anything but good 
of Lewis Godlove. 

"None knew him but to love him ; None named him but to 
praise !" 

He was an ardent lover of the best in literature and art and did 
his part to foster their appreciation. 

If he had any mortal faults, the unusual meed of meritorious attri- 
butes that he possessed eclisped them utterly. 

He left the priceless legacy of a good name. His existence was 
a gain to human fellowship and Jewish strength. Such men make 
the name of Jew respected by engendering regard and confidence. 
His life and doctrine squared. 

It will be long before the full realization becomes fixed in us that 
his fine presence is no more. 

Tender reminiscences of all his courteous manliness, the pleasing 
graces of his mind and thought will still remain, but oh, how sad 
that we may see no more that stately form, those forceful and ex- 
pressive features — shall feel no more that warm hand-grasp nor ever 
hear again the cordial cheery greeting. 

Young, he was, despite his 55 spent years, for he was young in 
spirit and in the joy of life. 

We mourn his passing deeply even while we yield to the Inevi- 
table. 

May the genuine and fullest sympathy of a whole community 
assuage the poignant anguish of the grief-wrung family circle from 
which he has been called — called all too soon. 

May time and the unfading joyous memory of his splendid life 
and personality be a consolation and a balm to his bereaved ones, 
now and in all the days to come. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 195 

STUPIDITY OF SABBATARIANS 



Mr. Bryan may be a good man, but his religion will bear 
broadening. 

So, too, all those whose shallow piety prevents them from seeing 
their own narrow-mindedness in trying to make their particular Sab- 
bath a compulsory Sabbath to all, to be observed as they alone see 
fit by abolishing plays and newspapers on that day. 

The church has lost its charm to many. It will hardly be loved 
the more by taking away from those to whom it does not appeal their 
natural and accustomed harmless pleasures. 

The Sabbath is a day of rest and of recreation. The obligation of 
religion and of education is to teach men the best in life and the 
wisest forms of action and of recreation of mind and body, but not 
by compulsion. 

If freedom means anything it signifies the right to choose one's 
own activities and also one's own day of rest and the form of one's 
own recreation. 

To interfere in either is sanctimonious tyranny, against which 
the American spirit naturally rebels. 

In every denomination we find the narrow-minded, but it should 
be the task of the more liberal element to fight their less enlightened 
brethren, be they of the cloth or merely laymen, to prevent the bigoted 
or unprogressive ones from getting the controlling voice or upper 
hand in their stupid autocracy. 

This applies to Presbyterians, to Methodists, to Protestants, to 
Catholics— AND TO OUR JEWISH FOLK AS WELL ! 

The rigid, narrow Sabbatarian, or formalist of any sect, is a dis- 
cord in the modern music of today. 

It is not narrow Sabbatarianism that we want today, but broad 
tolerance, an all-inclusive fellowship, a better understanding and a 
liberal outlook that will prevent us from trying to make the other 
fellow act as we see fit according to our own infallible pet notion, as 
if we were Divinity and Deity in one. 

Even God (so we are told) permits men to follow his own in- 
clinations. Then why should not men do so, at least to the point 
where we do not injure or abuse our fellowmen? 




196 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



COMMANDMENTS— OLD AND NEW. 



The Jewish festival of Shabuoth gives a central place to the Ten 
Commandments. 

The decalogue is old — but it never grows stale. It is one of the few 
things that "age cannot wither." Its value has not yet declined. Its 
need has not yet lessened. 

The necessity of injunctions is as greatly vital in this present hour as 
in the far-away antiquity, when ancient Israel first was the recipient and 
expositor. 

Our modern day might justify a second sect, a Minor Decalogue, 
which, if it be not viewed as irreligious, we might offer in the following: 
I. Be no profiteer. 
Love not display. 
Repeat not scandal. 
Think for yourself. 
Let others think. 
Support good institutions. 
Stand by good men. 
Read good books. 
Promote beauty everywhere. 
Be cheerfully earnest. 
We make no claim for observance of this, our minor decalogue. 
That would be asking too much ! 

We rest content if but the world will heed the ancient Ten Com- 
mandments that are inscribed in flaming letters on the Temple of Human- 
ity — placed there by our Jewish sages. 



3 
4 
5 
6. 

7 
8 

9 

10 



A SENSELESS SUICIDE 



A young Jewish man in Germany committed suicide recently 
as a protest to the growing anti-Semitism in that disturbed land. 

The incident is tragic enough. It reads like fiction but is, alas ! 
too gruesomely true. 

Jewish folk have died from persecution innumerably throughout 
the centuries, but the self-destruction of this young Jew of Germany 
is not to be included in the martyr list of Jewish history. 

His suicide was senseless. It did not serve a purpose. It could 
not remedy the disease. We can imagine the anti-Semites actually 
wishing that more Jewish men would follow his example ! 

Suicide is cowardice if it is not insanity. It is never a solution. 
It is abnormal and not the act of a balanced mind. 

We feel a profound sorrow for the sad fate of the young man, but 
we mingle with it a contempt for his senseless act — that to us seems 
a surrender to anti-Semitism instead of a defiance of it. The healthy- 
minded men of Jewish faith prefer to fight false prejudice and not 
flee from it by such a step as suicide. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 197 

RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES VERSUS PROFITEERING. 



In agitating aggressively against the prevailing orgy of high 
prices on all that relates to the cost of living, there are two vital 
things to do. 

The first is to find the responsibility — the second to remove the 
evil power of the doers. Both are difficult. 

Ask six people. 

One is positive that the farmer, or the producer, is the primary 
cause for the high prices. The second says it is the middleman. The 
third attributes it to organized labor demands. The fourth is just 
as sure it is the trusts. The fifth asserts that the consumer is too 
patient and too ignorant. The sixth believes that the increased post- 
war demands quite justify high prices. The last is loneliest in his 
view. 

Each of these factors — the producer, the middleman, the laborer, 
the corporation, the consumer — blames it on the other, so that it 
forms a circle without beginning or end and makes it hard to fix the 
guiltiest party to the combination. 

You cannot punish everybody. Legislation is not rapid, and it is 
not always as effective as expected, but action is imperative. 

Yet surely the violence of the mob, or the reckless, bitter, pessi- 
mistic disregard of law and order, which is to be expected as the final 
outcome, is a cure in which the remedy is worse than the disease. 

Frankly, while there must be restrictive legislation, and while 
there may be uprisings, riots and rebellion against the devilish injus- 
tice of high prices, the situation only after all reflects our undeveloped 
individual standards of morality and our imperfect application of true 
religious principles. 

It is frequently asserted and admitted that you and I, who are 
today the victims now of this profiteering, would be the equal wrong- 
doers if the chance was ours to do it. Whether true or false, this 
view expresses the low estimate of private virtue held in regard to 
public welfare. Selfishness is now the universal tyrant that must be 
dethroned. 

Protest and publicity will surely help somewhat to modify the 
prevailing evil situation under which the average citizen and poor 
people are plucked unmercifully at every point. 

For a lasting ending of the profiteering and averting of calamity, 
there will be have to be better, broader, stronger inculcation of 
religion and of education, in which the blasphemy and criminal acts 
of high price profiteers will be regarded as damnable as murder. 

There are numerous injunctions against such injustice in the 
Bible, viz., in the third book of Moses (Leviticus), Chapter XIX, 13, 
"Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor nor rob him." The problem 
is to make this and the other injunctions more effective in the daily 
life today. 



198 . SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



The Ten Commandments need a new addition at once to empha- 
size the duty of regard for fellowmen. 

Let the Eleventh Commandment be as follows : 
"Thou shalt not take advantage of thy neighbor's need, neither 
for bread, meat, coal, ice, clothing or shelter, or aught that is needed 
to ennoble life, for the profiteer is an abomination in the sight of God 
and man." 



GROVER CLEVELAND. 



The life of Grover Cleveland deserves the many pages devoted to 
it by the press. We surely need the stimulation of the lesson that it 
carries to us in far humbler walks of life. 

The feature of his life that stands conspicuously and prominently 
is the resoluteness with which he bore the displeasure of those who were 
his friends, and almost all of his party, and the indomitable firmness with 
which he continued in the course that he thought was right, despite all 
possible consequences. 

If there is a quality that distinguishes between the weak and the 
strong among human beings, this ability to disregard the favor of those 
that we desire to retain as friends and the many obligations that we 
owe to those who have helped us in the past, when duty conflicts with 
them all. Our actions then mark our moral power or our lack of it. 

It is not altogether difficult to rise to eminence, for destiny frequently 
assists. It is not as difficult to hold a high position as supposed. But 
to assume an office such as that of chief executive of a nation of many 
millions and to be forced by the claims of one's conscience to make 
enemies of former friends, to gain ill-will where admiration was wont 
to be tendered, to be attacked, maligned, slandered ana caluminated, 
not only from without, but from within, and all because of a belief 
that the obligation of one's conviction was the higher consideration 
than the pleasing of one's party or one's friends, is indeed an alterna- 
tive to make the bravest shrink ! 

It is because Grover Cleveland did not waver, but took the bitter 
cup, preferring conscientious unpopularity and isolation to public favor 
at the cost of self-respect that in death he now receives the sincere 
plaudits of the people. 

A character of such unflinching stability, such adamantine positive- 
ness and rugged honesty must naturally attract the homage and the 
admiration of a world of human beings which by its own innate weak- 
ness under similar tests is made conscious of the unusual worth and 
value of such a temperament and virtue. 

It is not because he was twice president of the United States that 
his memory is honored and revered, but because he was able to be master 
of himself in spite of being twice in such an exalted place, with tempta- 
tions in proportion to its loftiness, that we, Jewish and non-Jewish citi- 
zens of these United States, bow our heads and bend our hearts in 
honest grief at the loss of such a valuable contributing factor to our 
faith in human nature and the progress of the world. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 199 

POLAND IS NOT ABSOLVED. 



The Morgenthau report on Polish pogroms is made to appear 
in the daily press as a Polish absolution. 

The captions in the press may give that false impression, but 
the contents of the report do not justify the inference. 

To differentiate (as the report does), between the Polish peo- 
ple and Polish mobs, does not lessen the horror that helpless Jewish 
folk have been unjustly butchered! 

That not religious animosity, but unfounded accusals of dis- 
loyalty caused the "pogroms," can give no grain of comfort to the 
Jewish people — nor to the Polish people. 

The tragic dreadful fact remains that numbers of Jewish folk 
were murdered in cold blood, that lives of Jewish men, women and 
children were not spared, that no consideration of justice or of 
mercy was shown, that violence, brutality and irreparable injury was 
done to these same Jewish folk. 

An ineradicable black blot besmears the new Poland. Nothing 
can make it white again. 

Not until the breath of life can be restored to the dead hun- 
dreds of Jewish martyr victims, or until the memory of the mas- 
sacres is no more, can Poland hope to have again the full respect 
of all the world. For sins of such a magnitude there exists no ab- 
solution. 

Poland stands, in history, not acquitted, but condemned. The 
sentence is pronounced by its own misdeeds, from which there is no 
possible escape. 



CHILDREN'S SELF-DENIAL FUND. 



Dr. Louis Witt, the new rabbi of Temple Shaare Emeth, has 
introduced in the religious schools of the Temple, the splendid fea- 
ture of a "Children's Self-Denial Fund." 

The children of the Religious School are asked to bring small 
contributions every Sunday to a fund to be devoted to charity and 
to represent some little act of self-denial on their part. The purpose 
is to train the child in the habit of doing for others at the expense 
of a little personal deprivation or hardship. The child may run 
an errand or help in the home or take distasteful medicine or re- 
main away from a particular pay amusement and bring the little 
monetary reward or saving to the Self-Denial Fund. 

In this plan we. think we see the solution of many adult prob- 
lems provided that the child can be impressed with it sufficiently 
to make the habit one of life-long practice for its later years. 

The happiness of many homes, the future of many individuals — 
we may even add — the prosperity and existence of many nations, has 
been destroyed or diminished by the inability to realize the vital 
principle of self-denial. 



200 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



It is the exception today to find the individual who denies him- 
self or herself anything that he or she may crave. This is true of 
families. No thought of the relation of things is given. One lady 
was overheard recently to say: "I never bother about the cost!" 
although she was not at all in circumstances to justify such a posi- 
tion. 

We admire the acuteness and astuteness of the rabbi in making 
the "Self-Denial Fund" one for children only. He probably realizes 
the hopelessness of changing the selfish and extravagant habits of 
their elders. Imagine the rabbi asking the women not to buy the 
latest fashions, or the men to deny themselves their favorite cigars 
— in the interest of charity or useful principle ! 

A prevailing sentiment of enjoying life in the sense of getting all 
you can today for yourself without regard to the future or to others, 
makes many people reckless. "We live but once," they say! 

The change (if it is to come) must be brought by the introduction 
of such Children's Self-Denial Funds. We are glad to see it estab- 
lished and hope that it will be the medium of much good to the chil- 
dren who participate, to their parents who may learn from them and 
to ever-widening circles. 

It is possible that good example, as much as bad, may be con- 
tagious. 



AEROPLANES OVER JERUSALEM. 



On the Plain of Ephraim, a short distance south of Jerusalem, a 
French flyer descended in his aeroplane. On this plain, according to 
tradition. King David met and defeated the Philistines. 

If King David could have witnessed this remarkable event, what 
would have been his thoughts? How he would have marveled! 

Why should we speak of King David and the ancients when we our- 
selves are actually unable to conceive and realize the wonder of human 
beings winging their way through the air, over mountains, valleys and 
bays, in their devices of miraculous ingenuity ! 

The airman over Jerusalem aroused considerable excitement, for 
he was one of the first that ever passed over the Holy City. 

The novelty of aeroplanes has not yet worn off in the Occident, 
though we have had it longer than the Orient. 

Just now this marvel of man's mind and hand has but the purpose 
of destruction for its use, but we can see beyond the bloody veil and see 
this modern miracle used for beneficent and useful purposes in the 
coming intercourse of peace and commerce of the nations. 

The aeroplane is, to us, as great and awe-inspiring as any of the 
supernatural episodes, such as Elijah in his chariot, recorded in the Bible 
that strain credulity and common sense when literally accepted. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 201 



SUFFRAGE AND JEWISH WOMEN. 



The privilege of women to vote has long ago been acknovi^ledged 
in principle as a right by all fair-minded thinking people. The di- 
vision that still exists is largely upon the question of the usefulness 
of putting the principle in practice aand v^hether its advantages will 
bring about a corresponding detriment in some other form, such as 
a neglet of present-day domestic taste and occupation. 

We believe it would be hard to find a Jewish woman of intelli- 
gence who does not positively and justly regard herself as fully 
entitled to the suffrage on principle. We find furthermore that 
among the most active and militant leadrs of the movement, Jewish 
women shine. Yet, despite these facts there appears to be a listless- 
ness and an indifference among the rank and file of Jewish women 
toward securing the right and, even more, toward exercising it. 

The argument is often used that a similar state of affairs pre- 
vails among the men, but that does not help. 

Many women feel that they cannot give their full attention to 
the spheres of public life and the domestic. Other women, per- 
haps more selfish, cannot divide their time between their social de- 
sires and the public interest. Some even regard themselves, though 
mentally not deficient, not qualified for understanding of political, 
national and international affairs, to use the privilege with wisdom. 

None of these objections may be valid, but they do exist and in 
a large percentage among the sex in whose behalf the battle is now 
being waged. That the fight for woman suffrage will ultimately be 
successful universally cannot well be doubted, but the real work will 
only begin when the actual suffrage right has been secured. 

The average woman will have to be schooled and educated to 
an understanding of public problems and of the value and the possi- 
bilities of the vote (as men now need to be). 

The real interest of mankind today in woman suffrage is not 
whether that suffrage will be universal, for that is a foregone con- 
clusion, but whether her participation in public life will be general 
enough and sufficiently effective to appreciably affect public life and 
promote a betterment and development of humanity through the 
channel of political activity. 



An American millionaire went to the Holy Land in order to be 
baptized in the Jordan, an ambition he had had for years. This illus- 
trates the value of money. Without means, he would have had to 
possibly be baptized in the Mississippi river, which is probably not 
as wet as the Jordan. 



Jewish housewives must keep their tempers sweet, despite the 
jjrice of sugar. 



202 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



THE MISSION OF THE HOLY-DAYS. 



The annual Holy-Days fill their mission, in our eyes, if they 
beget a serious hour in which we inventory ourselves and launch our 
selves anew on broader planes and a higher standard of behavior. 

The Day of Memorial and the Day of Atonement have a reason 
for their being, if they bring a desire to weigh, but for their hours, 
the relation of things real and spiritual. 

We count for little and for much. 

Great ones fall and die, and, for a day we miss them. The world 
moves on. 

Obscure folk die, and carelessly we do not even note their going. 
The world moves on. 

Yet — who dares say that the world is not different because they 
lived and died, great or obscure, remembered or forgotten, appreci- 
ated or ignored. 

The greatest value of Holy-Days is that they ask us to take 
a perception of perspective — that is, to realize (more than we do) 
what is of primary and what of secondary value in the period we call 
life. 

Intellect may give us different standards, as degrees of vision 
make us near or far of sight. 

Emotion, culture, may limit or extend the measure of our sense 
of duty, honor and responsibility. 

Our views of life and of faith and of our obligations may be 
high or low. Breeding, moral training and transmitted tendencies 
affect them. 

The ding-donging of dogma means nothing. 

Given but men and women who will think seriously — men and 
women who willingly look honestly at life and at themselves — men 
and women who have the courage to alter a course that is an error 
— for such people the Holy-Days and the great Day of Atonement 
have a meaning above that of the pious, but unthinking, who ob- 
serve it automatically from habit and from custom. In them it creates 
no convulsion of the soul. 

If with the falling of the shadows on these days there rises in 
our conscience the stars of truer life, of stronger faith and fertile 
fellowship — our heaven will be brighter and our being more exalted. 

If we accept these days with any seriousness as days for intro- 
spection and truer resolves for finer standards of endeavor — their 
chiefcst function is performed and their continued perservation more 
than justified. 



WAR spells. 
W— Woe. 
A — Anguish. 
R— Ruin. 




iiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiMiii 

TRAVEL LETTERS 

iiuiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiinii 
(On an Imaginary Tour by the Author.) 




(Written before the war.) 

At last I am off for Europe ! The Jewish people have been the 
greatest "tourists" in history, — but alas ! their travels have been 
mainly those of necessity, not choice, their wanderings not idle 
"wanderlust," but flight from grievous, harsh oppressors. 

My trip is for recreation, sight-seeing, observation and reflec- 
tion, incidentally also for the benefit of readers. 

I intend to visit the principal countries of, the old world, to 
;note their points of interest, and — (what I fear our average mod- 
ern Jewish voyager does not do) to here and there connect a Jewish 
thought, incident or event, with my observation in the various lands, 
— in each of which the Jew has been, and is today in evidence. I 
will make brief surveys of England, France, Germany and other con- 
tinental states, and if I can I intend to include a flying trip to Palestine. 

The great steamship with its thousands aboard, swings loose from 
its safe New York harborage, to trust itself and all its precious freight 
out on the mighty sea, with the protection of devices of human in- 
genuity and a faith in Providence, to safely reach the other side. 

What developments navigation has attained since the days of Col- 
umbus ! One of his navigators was a Jew and the maps by which 
he steered his course were charted by a Jewish astronomer — Abra- 
ham Zacuto. If Columbus could take a trip today on any of our 
modern ocean leviathans ! 

Yet with all the great advance in marine perfection, with steam, 
electricity, steel and iron, fearful ocean catastrophes are still re- 
corded. 

Do human beings trust too much to automatic and mechanical 
devices and not enough to themselves? Is human carelessness the 
result or the price of too great dependence on our wonderful inven- 
tions ? 

We pass other ships — some like ours laden with pleasure seekers, 
others with the sad-faced but hopeful immigrants, to whom Amer- 
ica is still a haven of refuge and opportunity, as it should remain 
and as it was intended by the founders. 

The parents (or grandparents) of many of the ostentatious first 
cabin passengers came over in the steerage. You wouldn't think so 
to look at or to listen to some of the louder ones ! 

Speaking of sailing the ocean — the attempt is now actually to be 
made to cross the great pond in an airship ! Will we ever travel to 
Europe via the "Aerial Limited"? 

(Note: The feat has actually been accomplished since the article 
was written !) 



204 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Even in aerial navigation, the Jew figures. Otto Lilienthal was 
a pioneer in the science and lost his life in an experiment in an air- 
ship that he designed. A monument to his memory is just about to be 
unveiled in Germany. 

I met many St. Louis friends on board, but even if I had not been 
so fortunate, most of the people are ready to be companionable with 
you on the voyage, and you with them — at least for a week! It is 
somewhat like a summer resort association, — very pleasant while it 
lasts. 

Our trip over was a pleasant one. Fortunately we did not run 
into any other ship. Despite the "mal de mer" an ocean trip is in 
'itself an experience and a benefit. The study of the city of human 
beings on board alternates with your awe and admiration of the vast 
'expanse of sea and sky. 

The majority of the passengers appear more interested in the 
dining room bill of fare, and the diversions of the deck — I mean of 
course the promenade deck — not the pasteboard deck ! Some pre- 
fer the ballroom dances to the dancing waves. 

After six short days we reach the Old World shores. To think it 
took months for the trip before the age of steam ! 

If your mind is at all responsive you begin to realie the descrip- 
tion of the ocean by the poet-genius when he wrote : 

"Thou glorious mirror, where th' Almighty's form 

Glasses itself in tempests, in all time. 
Calm or convulsed, in breeze, or gale or storm, 

Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime, 
Dark-heaving; — Boundless, endless and sublime, 

Th' image of Eternity, — the throne 
Of th' Invisible ; even from out thy slime 

The monsters of the deep are made ; each zone 

Obeys thee ; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, 
alone." 



II. GERMANY. 



t '/if&i'i.'^.i'.."; 



"Eine grosse Landstrasse ist unsere Erd, 
Wir Menschen sind Passagiere, 
Man rennet und jaget zu Fuss and zu Pferd 
Wie Laufer oder Couriere. 

"Man faehrt sich vorueber, man nicket, man gruesst 
Mit dem Taschentuch aus der Carosse, 
Man haette sich gerne geherzt und gekuesst, 
Dock jagcn von hinnen die Rosse." 

So sang Germany's lyric Jewish poet, Heinrich Heine — and he 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 205 



sang truly. The hurry of life denies us even the mere joy of friend- 
ship save all too briefly. So fellow-voyagers admit as our boat lands 
and we part. 

I am glad to be on "terra firma" once more, and to have safely 
crossed that mighty waste of waters. 

To set foot on German soil is to realize that you are in a 
foreign land, for, though human nature may be the same the world 
over, — scenery, language, customs, life and living, modes and man- 
ners, differ most decidedly. It is this variety that gives the charm 
to travel. 

The unseen, but not unfelt power of the "Koenigliche und Kai- 
serliche" authority is everywhere in evidence in Germany. But who 
would be a "Kaiser," Czar or achduke, living in constant fear of foul 
assassination! (Note: Or live in exile — hated and contemned!) 

Rather be a free, obscure American — especially on July Fourth ! 

Germany stands in the van of progress. Berlin is preferred to 
Paris. I send you a view of Berlin, taken while up in an airship 
over the city. What would science, civilization, music, art and litera- 
>ture be without Teutonic contributions? Modern commerce, too, 
would be diminished by a large per cent, if German enterprise would 
be subtracted. 

And when we say Teutonic, we include Jewish Meyerbeers and 
Mendelssohns in German music, Ehrlichs in its medicine, the Ballins 
in commerce, Lasker and Derriburg in statecraft, and Jewish genius 
everywhere. 

When the first Jews came to Germany is not definitely known. 
They were fairly well treated until the Crusades in the eleventh cen- 
tury and later, in the fourteenth and fifteenth, when fearful massacres 
and slaughter of Jewish people are recorded. Expulsions were gen- 
eral. Later, unprincipled petty princes used the Jew for their private 
benefit as caprice or self-interest dictated. 

The action of the Great Elector, Frederick William, who decided 
to tolerate all religions, marked the beginning of a better day. The 
wise achievement of Moses Mendelssohn, in translating the Torah 
into German, inaugurated a favorable revolutionary change by giving 
the Jew modern culture. The devoted and earnest championship of 
Gabriel Riesser of the cause of his Jewish co-religionist had its good 
fruit, and civic equality for the Jew was declared in Prussia in 1848 
and in 1870 all over Germany. Today there are no actual written 
restrictions against the Jew in Germany, but unwritten social dis- 
criminations are strong and active. 

It was in Germany that Reform Judaism had its birth. Although 
modern anti-Semitism is of German origin it is to that great German 
non-Jew, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, we owe the greatest, noblest pic- 
ture of a Jew — "Nathan the Wise," of which Moses Mendelssohn was 
the model. 

The ride along the Rhine is one of the scenic delights of German 
travel. Here, too, the poetic and imaginative feeling must be given 



206 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



play, else how can we conjure up "The Lorelei" or the "Rheingold" 
treasure hoard and feudal days ! Happily these same old feudal days 
are past, but an equally stern conflict between capital and labor, polit- 
ical emancipation and restriction, progress and "standpatism" thunders 
to the listening ear. 

The waters of Wiesbaden and Kissingen and all the "Kur" resorts 
attract their thousands. How it it that our modern life produces so 
many chronic invalids ! Is our modern way of life so illogical, so 
ill-arranged, that indigestion, liver complaint, heart trouble and nerv- 
ous diseases are the natural products of the excited, worried, foolish 
bustle we call life ? 

We know nearly everything about life, — except how to live ! 

At the "'Bads" and "Spas" we take the other extreme, sheer indo- 
lence, — but sooner or later we find ourselves back in the old irrational 
rut. A recent jest says that we go to the "Bad" for our "good." Do 
we go to the "Spas" just for "fun"? (Spass.) (German pun.) 

The leading Jewish organization in Germany is "Das Hilfsverein 
Deutschen Juden." A synagogue recently dedicated in Berlin (in the 
Lovetzow Strasse) cost 700,000 M. and seats 2,100. If it is always 
filled "to capacity" it is different than ours in America! 

Germany has given America some of its best citizens. The Ger- 
man Jews were the early pioneers in America, following the Spanish 
Portuguese, though now the Russian Jew has swamped them both. 

Here comes a German regiment, marching through the Branden- 
burger Thor. "Die Wacht am Rhein" is played. 

The military is prominent in Germany. It makes a brilliant 
show, but I think the taxpayer who bears the heavy burden of a 
standing army sees the marching regiments more truly in the light of 
unproductive, squandered energy and wasted wealth. Compulsory 
military service as in Germany may have its advantages in promoting 
physical stamina, but it brings an unwholesome, nasty overemphasis 
of the miUtary power that invites abuse, as the recent Zabern incident 
indicates. 

In Germany they make good beer. Prohibition has as yet no hold 
because the people know the distinction between temperance and 
excess. Instead of baseball the national game is drinking beer and 
listening to the bands. 

"Kellncr, ein Stein Muenchener!" (You know in Germany the 
anti-treating rule is operative.) 

Why can't Americans cook as they do in Germany? German 
cooking is justly celebrated. You can eat better and cheaper in any 
German "pension" by far than in any of our average dyspepsia-breed- 
ing boarding houses and restaurants, which figure as sorry jokes in 
the comic journals. 

Woman's suffrage has its exponents here, but will be late in 
being adopted, for the four K's— "Kinder, Kueche, Kirche and Kleidcr" 
— still occupy the dominant attention of the German hausfrau. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 207 



III. FRANCE. 



"O liberty! can man resign thee, 
Once having felt thy generous flame? 
Can dungeons, holts or bars confine thee? 
Or whip thy noble spirit tame? 

To arms! to arms! ye brave! 
The avenging sword unsheathe ; 
March on! march on! all hearts resolved 
On victory or death." 

( The Marseillaise. ) 



One hundred and twenty-five years ago next Tuesday the Bastile 
fell in France and the equivalent of our Fourth of July became a 

numerous in France. Its population is about forty-five million. It 
is a leading country in almost all things — except babies. French 
babies are at a discount and the birth rate steadily diminishing. The 
cause? The best men in France are trying to explain the change — this 
serious indication of a nation losing vital ground ! 

What does the American sight-seeing, pleasure-seeking tourist 
care about that, however ! He has Paris with the Louvre, that wilder- 
ness of the world's art — the opera, shops, cafes and boulevards. 

To an average feminine heart, Paris is heaven — for here the 
styles of dress and hats originate and can be seen in plenty at their 
pinnacle of perfect "loveliness." (Styles change as we write.) 

Strange that a city like Paris celebrated for art should send out 
some of the "creations" that are charged against it, in women's styles 
and fashions ! Just why a city of art should sponsor the appalling 
style of women's wear we are suffering from today is difficult to 
answer unless it is another phase of "futurist" or "cubist" art! 

I am told that Paris is being strongly "put to it" by Munich and 
other cities to hold its own as the artist's Mecca — but what is being 
lost in art leadership is being gained in supremacy in aircraft, auto- 
mobiles, inventive skill and like ingenuity. 

France has Russia as its ally, which a Jewish voyager, like myself, 
regrets, but, as an American I must ever remember that France, 
through Lafayette, helped the United States to win its independence 
from England in the Revolutionary war. 

Though France has less population, it has more battleships than 
Germany, with 650 built and 31 building. If Admiral Sir Percy 
Scott of England is correct, all battleships will be junk soon. The 
submarine will do it. (All this was written before the war!) A Jew- 



208 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



ish novelist and romancer of France, Jules Verne, said it years ago in his 
"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." 

France is the land of workers, wheat and wine — of fashion, folly 
and frivolity, and Paris is the shopper's Elysium. 

The distinction between the peasant of France and the Parisian 
"boulevardier" has been often stated. Paris is not France — but Paris 
is France to the average tourist. 

There is immorality in Paris for those who look for it. In this 
respect it differs somewhat from our own country — in that vou do not 
need to look for it ! 

Whatever may be said of Paris, it did not originate the nature dances ! 

The Jew of France is more French than Jewish. His Judaism 
is not aggressive. It is feeble and not fiery — almost quiescent. Yet 
Jewish history in France has been like elsewhere — a kaleidoscope of 
mistreatment and mistrust, though not as bad as Germany or Russia. 
The Jews were expelled from France in the year 1182 and in 1320, but 
returned later. The Talmud and twenty-four carloads of Hebrew 
books were burned by order of inquisitors in 1242. 

Other blood than Jewish has been shed in France — blood of Cath- 
olic, of Protestant (Huguenots on that awful St. Bartholomew night), 
blood of kings and nobles, blood of rabble and canaille, all in the sacred 
names of justice and religion! 

There is a well-established tradition that a Jew saved a French 
king's Hfe in a battle with the Arabs in the eighth century by sur- 
rendering his horse to King Charles, losing ^is own life for the royal 
leader. For this special privileges were granted them in the City of 
Narbonne. 

The Place de la Concorde, the famed Tuileries, th^ Champs 
Elysees ending with the Arc de Triomphe and further on the Bois de 
Boulogne invite you. Tiring of the streets the busy Seine flowing 
under ever so many bridges gives opportunities to see and to be seen ! 
An ever-changing scene ! 

The Revolution in France brought only partial freedom to Jewish 
inhabitants. The Jews suffered severly during "The Reign of Ter- 
lor," and it was not until Napoleon, convinced by the Assembly of 
Jewish Notables, called by him and later by the Jewish Sanhedren in 
1807 that followed, that Jewish emancipation in France began. 

Today the problem is one of a fear of too rapid assimilation. 

Yet as recent as the nineteenth century the world was witness to 
a Dreyfus "cause celebre" wherein the basest Anti-Semitism was dis- 
played and continued. The cry of "a bas Juifs" (down with the Jews) 
was heard. 

Fortunately, all ended favorably for the Jew, thanks never to be 
forgotten to Emile Zola, Col. Picquart and other noble souls, who 
deserve the everlasting tribute of grateful memory for daring to de- 
fend the truth against powerful detractors and a maddened, misled 
populace. There is no greater heroism in the world than for the 
sake of conscience to defy the world and champion truth and the 
equality of man. 




THE KINGDOM OF MUSIC AND SONG. 



'Tis a kingdom of joy, zvherc enraptured 
Love blossoms and flourishes long; 
The heart and the senses lie captured 
In the Kingdom of Music and Song. 

'Tis a kingdom of pain, too, and sadness 
Where memories poignant oft throng 
With griefs that enshadozv the gladness 
Of this Kingdom of Music and Song. 

In the kingdom of melody-making 
Is there peace and forgetting of wrong ; 
And to truth man comes nearest awaking 
In the Kingdom of Music and Song. 




ELMAN AND YSAYE 

(After hearing the tzvo violin artists in joint recital) 



Their faith is different, but their genius — one! 

In form and age diverse, but twinned by Music's gift. 

MUSIC — that levels all and has the power to lift 

Up to the shining stars and to the fiery sun! 

As sits the throng enthralled by music's bond, 

None thinks to say: "Ysaye is Christian and the other, Jew!' 

All listen but to hear if tones be true! 

Then to the magic joy their souls respond. 

Is melody the only tie that can unite f 

Can naught else span the gulf that lies betwixt 

Believers various by unreason fixed? 

Can music solely set the spirit right f 

A day will come — {the hope will never die) 
When men in harmony will live again 
When creeds will be attuned as now these twain, 
Whose glory brings a general sympathy. 

Then tvill the book of discord be forever closed, 
In concert then will echo clear from shore to shore, 
The music of that wondrous, mighty score. 
That the Creator hath for man composed! 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 209 



That sentiment in France is kinder to the Jew is proven by the 
recent election of Henri Bergson, the eminent Jewish philosopher, to 
the French Academic. He is the first Jew to be so honored in France. 
A Jewish general, Valabreque, also now holds office as a member of 
the Superior Court of War. Some day a Jewish president? 

The great figure in France dealing exclusively with Jewish learn- 
ing was "Rashi" (Solomon ben Isaac), the great commentator of the 
eleventh century. His works are today invaluable to study of the 
Talmud and classic standards of Jewish lore. 

If in the heart of Parisian beauty, life and folly, we desired a 
monitor of death, of the vanity of fame and passing of power it is 
afforded us by standing at Napoleon's tomb in the "Hotel des In- 
valides" — well where we may we recall the lines : 

"The drying of a single tear has more 
Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore," 

or the beautiful thought that 

"Only the actions of the just 
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust." 

The France that suffered a Napoleon, gave to the world a Pasteur 
for the suffering. 

Speaking of Pasteur, the new Rothschild Hospital has just been 
opened in Paris. The Minister of Public Works participated in the 
ceremonies. The new building comprises thirteen separate pavilions, 
and its hygienic equipment surpasses not only that of all other Paris 
hospitals, but also of all the hospitals in the country. 

At Cook's I was" told I could see Paris "in three days." Can you 
really see a city in three days? We live in our own home city a life- 
time and do not really see it all. 

For visions of past splendor of the days when France was a king- 
dom we go to beautiful Fontainebleau with its forest and palace where 
Napoleon signed his abdication and bade farewell to the "Old Guard." 

For health in water and fashionable social life what can surpass 
Biarritz, Vichy or Aux-les-Bains? 

One place is useless to the Jewish voyager — Lourdes, where at 
the sacred shrine of the Virgin "miraculous faith cures," of the lame, 
the halt and blind, are made. However, with Jewish folk joining 
Christian Science with similar faith and hope the preceding statement 
may not be so correct as I thought. 

One could spend years in the land of lilies, and miss many of the 
charms of fertile France ; blooming with vineyards, wheat fields and 
orchards, to Dijon, where they make mustard, gingerbread and pills ; 
Avignon, where the French Popes once reigned in place of Rome, the 
beautiful, fashionable, quaint Riviera, with but a few weeks to see all 
the principal countries, an all too early adieu I must bid to Burgundy, 
to Normandy, to Brittany, to Provence, in short to "La Belle France !" 



210 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 
IV. SWITZERLAND. 



"Make 2vay for liberty!" he cried; 
Make way for liberty, and died! 
* * * 

Thus Switzerland again zvas free; 
Thus death made way for Liberty. 

— James Montgomery. 

I am in the playground of Europe — Switzerland. The Swiss are 
an industrious people. Their chief assets are scenery and sturdiness. 
Their income is swelled to millions annually by the contributions of 
the foreign tourists who sojourn there to enjoy the perennial beauty 
of its climate, lakes and peaks. A "peek" at Switzerland is worth 
the money. 

Speaking of peaks, it is the fashion to climb them — or to try to. 
I know I felt "sehr matt" after trying to ascend the Zermatt "Mat- 
terhorn." I believe that I would rather toboggan down the Alps than 
clamber up. Switzerland is the proper place in which to eat Swiss 
cheese, especially after a day's tramping and ski-ing. 

Nature displays most of her wares and charms in Switzerland, 
— flowers, flowing streams, crystalline lakes, blooming valleys, snow- 
capped, lofty, isolated heights. 

All her tempers she shows, too — with sun and storm, resistless 
glacier, traitorous ice and stealthy avalanche. 

Many ladies have more than one admirer, but few can boast 
as numerous a following as "The Jungfrau," the most beautiful of all 
the Swiss mountains. (Count me in as one of the admirers.) 

Sunrise, sunset, Alpine glow, baffling color-plays that painters 
frantically, madly try to paint are "everyday" affairs in Switzerland. 

To indicate how much is known of Switzerland, I have just 
heard that Mr. Stovall of Georgia, the American minister to Switzer- 
land, sent an invitation to the Swiss Foreign office to participate in 
the naval display of the Panama Exposition ! The laughable feature 
is that Switzerland has no navy! It is surrounded on all sides by 
mountains by which it gets the name of "Mountain Republic." The 
invitation was withdrawn. 

Switzerland also has no standing army, but every man from 
twenty up is trained to rifle practice and liable to be called to service 
in emergency. 

How the Swiss peasants fought for their liberty against the 
French and Austrians is one of the most thrilling chapters of the 
world's history. The legendary tradition of William Tell could easily 
have been duplicated many times in the heroism and determination 
of those who opposed the usurpation of the House of Hapsburg. 
Arnold Winkleried was not the only one willing to die for liberty. 

Protestantism and Catholicism had their bloody struggle in 
Switzerland until the final compromise that all religions should be 
tolerated. What else can any sensible people do? 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 211 



During the Middle Ages the Jews were more oppressed and 
persecuted in Switzerland than in any other country. Falsely accused 
of ritual murder, of poisoning wells, they were tortured into so-called 
confessions, then murdered or else banished from the land. 

The records show that Jews were hanged, broken on the wheel 
and burnt alive, yes! at beautiful Geneva, Vevay at the Basle and 
Bern — all in liberty loving Switzerland ! It was Liberty — limited ! 

The Jews were hated and despised, made to wear a special hat 
to indicate their faith, from which badge only Jewish physicians 
were exempt. In many places they were denied synagogues and 
cemeteries and were compelled to live in special streets, "The Juden- 
Gasse." 

A so-called "citizenship" was sold to Jews at a Shylock rate in 
some of the cities. This "citizenship" was really only for the privi- 
lege of living under municipal protection in a city, for a limited time ! 

Strange to say, after the various maltreatment they received, 
the Jews were always asked to come back and came. They were 
permitted to come back because they added to the revenue of the 
cities by the heavy taxes that they paid. As soon as the indebted- 
ness became too great to the Jews for money that was borrowed from 
them, they were again harassed, plundered and persecuted, and 
thereby the legitimate debts evaded. 

Not until 1798 did the plea for equality for the Jews obtain a 
hearing in Switzerland and it was not until France, England and the 
United States insisted on the right of settlement in Switzerland for 
all French, American and English citizens, including Jewish, that 
Switzerland granted citizenship without distinction of creed. This 
was along about 1865, but not until 1874 were all restrictions 
removed. 

Yet (irony of fate) it was at Basle, Switzerland, that the first 
Zionist Congress held its sessions ! When will the nations realize 
that the Jew and Judaism cannot be extinguished? 

There are about 25,000 Jews in Switzerland today and many 
congregations now have their own beautiful edifices of worship. In 
Zurich there are two temples, in Basle one. 

Despite the horrid past, the Jews in Switzerland today are true 
and faithful Swiss citizens. They are prominent in art, music, liter- 
ature and industry. They have representatives in Parliament, in the 
courts, and, unlike Germany, a Jewish philosopher occupies a uni- 
versity chair in Basle University. 

It was Switzerland that gave the world the educational trinity 
of Pestalozzi, Rousseau, Agassiz. Illiteracy is very small in Swit- 
zerland. 

Napoleon crossed the awful Alps in winter to make his famous 
descent into Italy. 

I will, after my much enjoyed stay here, with utmost ease enter 
Italy, not as Napoleon did, across the Alps, but through them, via 
the great Simplon Tunnel, one of the many engineering marvels of 
that worm-god, — Man. The Simplon Tunnel connects Switzerland 
and Italy and was the labor of seven years, is 123^2 miles long and 
7,000 feet below the surface at its deepest point. 



212 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Such work better befits the ingenuity of human minds and the 
holy labor of human hands — than war and the bloody activity of 
religious hate. 



V~ITALY. 



"Ideas rule the world and its events. A revolution is the passage of 
an idea from theory to practice. A religion or a philosophy lies at the 
base of every revolution. . . , This is a truth, that can he proved 
from the whole historical tradition of humanity." 

Guiseppe Mazzini. 



"All roads lead to Rome." 

Italy looks like a riding boot on the map, but it would take seven 
league boots (and a lot of riding to boot) to cover its area of 114,000 
square miles. To see its art treasures and ruin relics of the past would 
wear out even such mythical underpinning. 

I pictured Italy as a land of ancient ruins, music, macaroni, laz- 
/.aroni and volcanoes. It has all these — though there is no connection 
between them, but Italy has more than marble statuary and restless 
Aetna and Vesuvius. 

It has agriculture, viticulture, floriculture — manufactures. 

In America we picture every banana peddler as Italian. The 
peddler may be from Italy, but not the bananas. Italy has other 
fruits — oranges, lemons, figs, peaches and apricots enough to stock 
many a fruit stand without the bananas. 

In the galleries of art a human lifetime looms up little. We can 
give but a passing glance at a Michel-Angelo's "Moses" and "David" 
and all the treasured priceless art. 

There was a time when the Pope ruled Italy — and many other 
lands. Time has a way of changing things. Within recent years as 
most readers may know, a Jewish Signor, Ernesto Nathan, has occu- 
pied the mayor's chair of Rome ! He was in our country as special 
envoy of Italy to the Panama World Exposition that was held in San 
Francisco ! 

Italy certainly has had its share of internal dissension, strife and 
turmoil. If Guelfs and Ghibellines were not artistically cutting each 
others' throats, the rival three republics of Upper and Middle Italy 
were performing that disagreeable function for each other. 

Austria, Spain, Savoy and Napoleon cut up Italy till it became 
clear that the only salvation was union and independence. 

Strange how always a MAN develops when the need is great ! 
Mazzini came — then Garibaldi and Cavour and Victor Emanuel. 

The papal power was limited to spiritual matters in 1871. 

To Italy we owe Dante. From Genoa Columbus sailed. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 213 



Of the Forum there are only some ruined columns, but the one- 
time majesty and world power concentrated there is still alive in spirit, 
after centuries of physical death. 

The Arch of Titus and the Coliseum bear with them remem- 
brance of the gloomy days when the Jewish state fell and Jews were 
used as slaves to help to build the Roman amphitheater where later 
they and Christians were the sport of many a Roman holiday. I 
would not walk under the Arch of Titus. It shows on one side Titus 
crowned with Jewish leaders dragged in chains beside his chariot 
wheels. 

The catacombs under Rome bear testimony to the inhumanity of 
man to man of old (but not forgotten) days. 

There must have been no motion picture men in those olden days 
or they would have had "10-reel films" of Nero burning Rome, of 
the martyrdom at the stake of Savonarola and other harrowing 
events. 

Out of the 33 million Italian people forty thousand are Jews. 
There is a Hebrew pun on the word Italy "I-tal-yah" ("the land of 
the dew of the Lord"). 

The Jews of Italy were not subjected to the same degree of perse- 
cution as Jews in other countries where they usually received the "nth 
degree." In Italy the 3rd degree was theirs, which was considered 
comparatively "fair !" 

An embassy from Simon Maccabeus to the Romans to strengthen 
mutual alliance against the Syrians marks the earliest record of the 
Jews in Italy. They were well received and many converts were 
made — some of prominent persons. This aroused ill feeling and an- 
gered Tiberius who commanded all Jews and proselytes to abjure 
their faith or leave Rome under penalty of perpetual bondage. The 
younger Jewish men he ordered to fight the brigands in Sardinia and 
m.any lost their lives in these encounters. 

Titus, Domitian, Trajan and Hadrian were emperors of Rome 
hostile to the Jews. This was before Christianity. With the rise 
of Christianity the condition of the Jews became worse. When the 
Emperor Constantine became a convert to Christianity he imposed 
exceedingly oppressive laws. His successor, Emperor Julian, who was 
not a Christian, repealed these laws, but Julian's successor resumed 
them and so on up and down the see-saw went until the fall of the 
Roman Empire. 

The Popes pursued the same alternating policy. Pope Innocent 
III was the originator of many of the persecutions suffered by Jews 
in Christian lands. They also suffered from the anti-Pope, Benedict 
XIII. 

Paul IV was cruel. He ordered that the Jewish quarter in Venice 
should be burned but this was frustrated. Pius V was even worse 
than Paul IV. The position of the Jews during the period of 1500 
in 1600 was pitiable. It bettered itself by slow degrees. With Napo- 



214 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Icon's conquest relief came. It grew worse with his fall until 1848, 
when the general revolution swept through Europe and brought eman- 
cipation to the Jews. 

Pawnbrokers are classed as Jews, but it was the great Christian 
family of the Medici of Florence which for nearly three centuries 
influenced the political fate of Italy, who were the real pawnbrokers. 
They were great money lenders. The pawn brokers' symbol of three 
balls is taken from the original coat-of-arms of the Medici family, 
which was six red balls on a field of gold. The Medicis were NOT 
Jews. 

Florence was the center of the great Italian Renaissance in let- 
ters and in art. Here Savonarola, the noble martyr-monk, was burned 

We have some trouble at home keeping our streets properly 
sprinkled. They have no such trouble with street sprinkling in 
Venice. The streets (canals) are usually quite wet. Nor have they 
any automobile troubles in them. The gondolas, the equivalent of 
our taxicabs, have been romanticised so much in music, verse and 
song that it is hard to conceive them as merely mercenary means of 
transportation through the watery streets of the "Queen of the 
Adriatic." 

Anarchists have been active in Rome and a large meeting was 
recently held near the Coliseum. Perhaps they believe they are the 
modern Mazzinis. 

Naples is noted for its strikingly beautiful bay, but a strikingly 
disagreeable smell makes it pleasanter to look at it pictorially than 
with sensitive olfactory nerves in active operation. 

The "tarantella" is a dance that is native to Naples. It is a swift, 
whirling, six-eight measure dance. It gets its name from tarantula, 
a spider, whose bite was believed to cause a dancing disease. Our 
modern dances in America must be due to the bites of several centi- 
pedes. 

If you can forget Herculaneum and Pompeii, buried by an erup- 
tion 2,000 years ago, you may admire Vesuvius, but if you can't then 
ride on beautiful Lake Como or Maggiore and you won't believe 
nature can be savage. 

The Jews have been patriots in Italy and served manfully in a 
war for unity and liberty of Italy. Two Jews (Wollenberg and Luz- 
zatti) have been Ministers of Finance in Italy and a Jewish Minister 
of War (Ottolenghi) served in 1902. 

Rome, Milan and other cities have large and beautiful syna- 
gogues. The present King, Humbert, is very friendly disposed. 

The position of the Jews in Italy now is better than in any other 
European land. There is no anti-Semitism in Italy, and, if I were 
not a staunch American I would prefer to be a Jew of Italy as the 
next best land for a Jewish citizen to live. 

And — if you were a native son of Italy — who had, from poverty, 
to emigrate, — wouldn't you be most glad to get back home to "Sunny 
Italy"? Sure you would. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 215 



VI. SPAIN. 



"In Old Madrid 
Long years ago 
Where lightly hummed the gay guitar." 

I meant to go to Austria after leaving Italy, but martial law 
being declared and ugly war raising its frowning head, I went to 
Spain instead. Spain — land of indolence and fruits, vineyards and 
bull fights, of the Inquisition and of Don Quixote de la Mancha ! 

Once the greatest of continental countries, now so poor and weak 
that it does not even figure in the proposed European war, — such 
has been the fate of Spain. Pride and intolerance spelled its ruin. 
"Consequences are unpitying," says George Eliot. The consequences 
that follow pride and prejudice are inevitably wreck and decay. 
Spain knows it from history. 

For a ruined country, however, Spain is still in a tolerably vital 
shape with its immense production of wines, oranges, raisins, wool 
and cattle. 

Twenty million people are not a handful. Of these millions in 
Spain there are only a few hundred Jews. Perhaps this explains why 
Spain is so far back in the line of progress today, for whether it be 
accidental or otherwise, where Jewish folk are numerous and well 
treated progress and prosperity seem to be, Spain has the fewest 
Jews. Who would be Spain? 

Once Spain had the cream of Jewish people as its citizens. 

First well treated, then ecclesiastically, falsely slandered, then 
royally robbed and mistreated, then publicly persecuted, compul- 
sorily converted, heretically denounced and inquisitorially tortured, 
burned, stoned to death, and the others expelled — that is Jewish his- 
tory in Spain ! 

At one time forbidden to leave the land, then (in March, 1492) 
driven out of it shows the consistency of treatment (Vide Russia 
today.) 

Massacres in 1366 and 1391 were preludes of the Inquisition. 

Many "converts" to Christianity were still secretly Jews at heart. 
They were called "Marranos." A special court of inquiry, called 
the "Inquisition," was created in 1480 to "try" them. And they did. 

All convicted of heresy were terribly tortured and burned in 
public auto-da-fes. Thomas Torquemada was the Grand Inquisitor. 
If there is no hell, there should be one for the special permanent abode 
and occupancy of his cruel fanatic "soul." In the absence of such a 
place of physical torment, his memory is a synonym for all that is 
base and hellish in the minds of men. 

From 1480 on to 1808 not less than 31,712 persons were ruth- 
lessly destroyed by the Inquisition besides numberless others im- 
prisoned, impoverished, disgraced. 

In the 13th century the Jews in Spain numbered about 800,000. 
Now there are only a few hundred living in that land. 

When the edict of expulsion came in 1492 about 200.000 emi- 
grated, 50,000 were baptized, 20,000 died. 



216 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



And now Spain wants to have the Jewish people back ! 

The Jews experienced a good period during the Moorish (Mo- 
hammedan) occupation of Spain, when Jewish disabilities were re- 
moved and full religious liberty extended to them. The Jews of 
Spain in their balmy days had famous educational institutions, beau- 
tiful synagogues, poets, scientists, leaders in all branches. 

Now there is no vestige of their life except in the literature of 
Spain. 

For a century after the Jewish expulsion Spain prospered, then 
declined till now she stands at the foot of the class. And we "whipped 
Spain." What a triumph. 

I met Dr. G (who has just toured Spain). He found a former 

synagogue transformed into a drinking tavern. His humiliation was 
such that he intends to try to have a subscription began to buy the 
structure to rescue it from its defilement. I fear the appeal will be 
in vain. Sentiment among us for things of the past is greatly on the 
decline. The majority is callous, and the thinking Jews have their 
eyes largely on the present and the future of our fate. 

The Spanish government is anxious to have Jewish immigration 

now, but Dr. G strongly doubts that any will or that it would be 

good for many to go back. "A burnt child dreads the fire." 

I was told in Madrid that Senor Carabajal, the temporary suc- 
cessor of Huerta in Mexico, is a descendant of a "Marrano" (com- 
pulsory apostate) Jewish Spanish family of those olden days, and 
that records exist to prove it. 

Madero was also said to be of Jewish ancestry. It is not unnat- 
ural that driven from Spain, Jewish families should have located 
(under disguised names) in a land like Mexico, where life and lan- 
guage were akin. 



With the war-spirit now on and every point of vantage vital, is 
it not astonishing to find that England possesses Gibraltar in Spain, 
the impregnable fortress that holds the key to the Mediterranean 
where it meets the Atlantic? Spain tried to take it several times 
from England, but in vain. Imagine England owning the Island of 
Manhattan — and the United States the rest of the country ! 

The Alhambra (of which I send you a photo of one of the courts) 
was the palace of the Moorish Kings. What must its charm have 
been in its hey-day of being! 

The Moors of Spain were skilled in arts and arms. Whether 
they gained more from Spain or Spain from them in chivalry and 
graces is disputed. 

If I could only forget the Jewish past in Spain, I would enjoy its 
beauties and the quaint charms of Seville, Valladolid, Saragossa and 
Cordova. 

We must forget. Nature forgets. Over every battlefield, where 
human folly pays its fearful bloody tribute, grow, in after years, the 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 217 



wheat and vine, the green grass and the golden grain. So, too, in 
Spain doth Nature's beauty reign, in spite of all the past. And Spain 
being repentant, we say with Sancho Panza : 

"Who errs and mends, 
To Heaven himself commends." 



VII— EGYPT. 



"In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone 

forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they unto 

the wilderness of Sinai." Exodus ip:i. 

War, miserable war, prevented any continuation of my conti- 
nental tour as originally planned. Perhaps you readers might be 
glad if I had to stop and come home, but I may never have another 
chance of foreign travel in my life, so instead of going home from 
Spain I turned to the East — to Egypt, land of the Nile and the croco- 
dile, of Arabs and scarabs (sacred beetle). 

I sailed across the blue Mediterranean, before the French fleet 
came there and before Egypt became mixed up in the fearful mess, 
away from all the "alarums of war," from bombs in the air, mines 
in the water, bullets on land and torpedoes at sea. Not earth, sea or 
sky are longer safe from man's destructiveness. 

Egypt means "the black land," but this has no relation to "dark- 
est Africa," but fertile soil. Fertile it is only through the River Nile. 

Egypt to most of us is a mere name. Egypt to the majority is 
a mummy embalmed in the Bible. The Jews called it "Mizraim." 

Though Egypt is nominally subject to Turkey, it thought to be 
virtually independent, with a Khedive governor, yet it is really ruled 
by England. What England says, goes. Egypt is no mummy, let 
me tell you. The Suez Canal and Assouan Dam and the railways 
make Egypt accessible and commercially important. Its imports 
amount to many millions. 

And the most vital commercial and strategic fact of Egypt, the 
Suez Canal, is controlled by England, because A JEW, Lord Bea- 
consfield (Benjamin D'Israeli) where he was prime minister achieved 
that wonderful feat of acquiring it for England ! 

Last year 5.035 ships used the canal. The year 1913, while the 
total trade done was less than in 1912, showed a marked gain in the 
tonnage of loaded merchant ships. The quantity of merchandise car- 
ried was 25,775,000 tons, a record figure. 

In Egypt there are many queer things, including the lotus, the 
sacred ibis, camel, crocodile, papyrus, and the sacred beetle. 

I met no bewitching Cleopatras nor lordly Ptolemies, but plenty 
of poverty stricken people. The ancient grandeur of Egypt is very 
prosaic today. 

Scenically (cynically!) I prefer Switzerland to Egypt! Egypt 
is low, flat and marshy when the Nile inundates and sandy, hot and 
suffocating when dry. 



218 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Plague, cholera, boils and opthalmia are not rare. Insects love 
Egypt, and the traveler. 

The Nile saves and supports Egypt, plus the travelers who come 
to see the Sphinx, the Pyramids, the obelisks, the Luxor Temple, 
Hall of Karnak and the tombs. 

The deities that the ancient Egyptians worshiped would form a 
fine menagerie, including Apis the bull, Anubis the jackal, Thoth the 
ibis and other beasts and reptiles. They recognized the existence of 
an omnipotent being over these, but deified the creatures. They had 
no lofty "Christian civilization" such as Russia, Germany, Austria, 
Servia and the rest of the peaceful European nations have (a fine 
civilization) ! 

In Egypt, according to the Jewish chronicles, the Jewish people 
were enslaved, and their release from the bondage of the Pharaohs 
is still each year commemorated with rejoicing by us the world over. 

The camel is the Egyptian beast of burden. The dromedary 
(often confused as camel) is rather a steed for riding, covering as 
many as 100 miles a day. 

But if you imagine Egypt depends on camels or dromedaries for 
the tourist, you might be called a camel, for between Cairo and Luxor 
are luxurious trains de luxe with restaurant, dining and sleeping cars 
equal to any in America. 

Oases and desert scenery are viewed from observation cars. 
What would the builders of the Sphinx and of the Pyramids think if 
they could witness a modern railroad train and locomotive ! 

In Cairo much good humany energy is wasted. Hawkers selling 
all manner of useless things — snake charmers and boys with trick 
monkeys crowd the streets, while the "bazaars," with their strenuous 
bargaining will sell you all kinds of trash from a praying mat to a 
rhinoceros-hide whip. 

The only "Egyptian" cigarettes I met were those made in 
America. As for the Egyptian dancers — I think our "vaudevillians" 
out-Egypt Egypt, — most ofifensively. 

As my money supply is limited and I still want to visit Turkey, 
if it is not embroiled in the war, I will save my "piastres" to get home 
on. "Home !" What a beautiful word ! We only appreciate it fully 
when we are away from it. Yet while in far away Egypt I long for 
dear America. This same Egypt is home to many human beings, 
as America to me. So after all home is but an accident of birth and 
of geography, like the nationality and religion of so many people. 




SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 219 



BIGOTRY IN BUSINESS 



Just wh}^ "Christian" is expressly specified as an indispensable 
qualification by some employers is the deep enigma and mystery that 
we are trying to solve. 

Are there no untrustworthy Christians? Are there no conscien- 
tious Jewish men? If "Christian" is meant as a religious adjective — 
as we take it — the inference is infamous. It casts a slurring reflection 
on all non-Christian men. 

What possible relations is there between Christianity and com- 
mercial fitness to be a buyer of ribbons, millinery or dry goods? 

Experience, ability and integrity — these are essential attributes — 
but theology (or lack of it) can hardly be considered connected with 
the proper filling of positions such as those enumerated. 

The ofifending store wisely hides its name under a secret box 
number. Its number should be ZERO. A cipher would represent 
truly the sum total of the "intelligence" or comprehension of Amer- 
ican ideals that the cranium or heart of the inserter of such ads 
possessed. 

Does the United States ask enlistment in its forces of "Christians 
only"? Does the draft exclude Jewish men? Do German bullets 
distinguish between Jewish or Christian Americans? 

If Jewish men are good enough to be accepted to defend the 
land and die to make democracy safe throughout the world, they 
ought to be permitted also to occupy such "lofty" positions as dry 
goods buyers, ribbon salesmen and the like ! 

The pity of it is that the precious blood of Christian and Jew 
must flow for such poltroons and bigots as the advertisers to whose 
discriminatory slurs we take exception. 

No journal should let itself be used as the medium for such in- 
tolerance and bigotry in business. For its own sake and that of its 
manv Jewish readers let us hope that such ads will not be repeated. 

Character, responsibility and reliability are not matters of denom- 
ination. There are white sheep, black sheep and grey ones in every 
sect and creed — whether they belong to churches or whether they 
do not. 

Christian church membership in itself is not a certain certificate 
of character. Neither is synagogue afiPiliation an unfailing criterion 
of personal merit. 

This is not a disparagement of either church or synagogue — 
both of which, too often, are utilized hypocritically by those who do 
not live up to the high teaching of either institution. 

Often the church or synagogue is viewed as one thing and 
"business" as another, as the advertisements that we are criticizing 
witness, for in both Jewish and Christian doctrine men are to be 
viewed as brothers and fellowmen. 

To discriminate against either, because of difference of faith, 
is contradiction to the faith professed by the one violating its vital 
behest — the doctrine that is greater than any creed — the confession 
that all mankind, like God, is one. 



220 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 

LADY ASTOR'S ERROR 

A picturesque figure in English politics is Lady "Nancy" Astor, 
the first woman candidate for Parliament. She is "stumping" and 
personally campaigning just like a man — possibly a little bit better! 
We like her "spunk," but if she is quoted correctly in the daily press 
her knowledge of Scripture is somewhat faulty. 

The daily press states that at one meeting Lady Astor found a 
Socialist delegation present, and to it she quoted Scripture. She 
argued that Christianity was the only remedy for the world's ills. 

"I don't mind telling you that I am a Socialist at heart," she said. 
"It is the most beautiful creed on earth. But there has been only one 
true Socialist, and He said, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself." 

She makes the mistake that so many non- Jewish folk make re- 
peatedly in attributing the idea of loving one's neighbor as a teaching 
of the Christian Savior. On preaching it, Jesus but re-iterated Jewish 
Old Testament teaching. 

The admonition to "Love thy neighbor as thyself" appears first 
in the Old Testament in Leviticus, the third Book of Moses, chapter 
19, verse 18. 

Lady Astor surely did not realize that she was praising the Mosaic 
code and the Jewish faith instead of Christianity. • 

If she ever learned of her error she will possibly be generous 
enough to acknowledge it and to admit, also, that Jesus, in so far as 
moral conduct goes, taught only the ancient Jewish principles enunci- 
ated in the Old Testament. 



CHANGING N AMES A ND RELIGION 

The question might be asked, why not change one's reHgion if it 
causes one embarrassment or humiliation, just as readily as one may alter 
the prefix or the suffix of one's personal cognomen? 

For all the conviction that the average person has on religion, the 
change would be as justifiable and as unmeaning. 

A name is an arbitrary thing, though by association, ancestry and 
history it gains a meaning and identity that creates confusion when it 
suddenly is changed. 

If a man's religion be no more than a name to him, he might as well 
change it for some other "religion" that will be to him also but a name 
and nothing more. 

In reality you can change your name, but not your religion, if you 
have one. 

A name is a garment that can be put oflf or put on. 

A religion, if it is one, is yourself, your inner self, your soul, your 
character, your conduct, your conviction, your view of life, your concep- 
tion of cosmos and of God, 

You couldn't put that oflF, if all the judges and courts in creation 
gave you the authority to do it ! 

Only if your religion is one of name only, can you discard it. Other- 
wise, it is as much a part of you as your own skin — only closer and 
more precious. 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 221 



"SHYLOCK" AND MACBETH. 



We note the interesting fact that our fellow Americans of Scotch 
extraction are actively protesting against the reading of Macbeth in 
the public schools. 

Some Boards of Education have rightly abolished the reading of 
The Merchant of Venice from public school courses because of the abom- 
inable character of "Shylock." 

This precedent is argued in behalf of the elimination of Macbeth. 

The resemblance is more apparent than real. There is a world of 
difference. There is a wide and serious divergence between the objec- 
tions raised to "Shylock" and those against the character of "Macbeth." 

In Macbeth it is not the Scotchman that is defamed, disparaged 
and denounced, for in contrast to the unworthy "Macbeth" we have 
the fine Scottish noblemen, king, and generals. Duncan, Malcolm, Don- 
albain, Banquo, Macdufif, Lennox, Ross, Menteith, Angus and Caith- 
ness. These noble characters amply sustain the good name and the fair 
fame of Scotch character. One traitor in a land is not an impossibility, 
for America had its Benedict Arnold. 

Now consider "The Merchant of Venice." There is no other Jew 
in the play than the grasping, cruel, heartless figure (or rather carica- 
ture) called "Shylock." No other children of Jewish faith are in the 
play except the selfish, faithless, disloyal "Jessica." 

In "Shylock" it is not the money-lender that is villified, for "An- 
tonio" the Christian, is also a money-lender. It is the JEW that is de- 
famed. It is the JEWISH daughter that is discredited as being false 
to both her father and her faith. 

It is not a nationality, but a Jewish people and their faith that is 
shamefully traduced in "The Merchant of Venice," while in "Macbeth" 
it is only misdirected ambition that is portrayed. We do not think of 
"Macbeth" as typically Scotch any more than one does of King 
Richadr III as English. Richard III is the evil king, not the English- 
man. "Macbeth" is the ambitious traitor, not the Scotchman, But 
"Shylock" is the Jew with nothing to relieve that fact. 

Not one character in the latter play offsets the unfavorable con- 
ception of the Jew. 

In objecting to "Shylock" in the public schools the Jewish people 
oppose simply and justly, a vile distortion of their faith and people — 
a distortion which, entering the plastic minds of youth, plants an ugly 
prejudice which many later years of better, truer knowledge of the 
virtues of the Jewish people fails often to efface. 



St. Louis also boasts a Jewish pugilist who has vanquished an 
opponent. He probably does not believe in the precept, "If a man 
smite thee on the one cheek turn him the other." 



222 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



WHY MEN ARE MOURNED 



(Referring to deaths of Elias Michael and Rabbi Henry Messing.) 

Within a week the community has lost, most unexpectedly, two 
of its members whose names were known to all. Two temple funerals 
witnessed unprecedented gatherings. 

Such outpourings of the people to mourn the passing of these 
workers must be accepted as good evidence that they were esteemed 
and cherished. 

The extent to which, or even the strata wherein, each served is 
not important. The crucial fact is that each sought actively to serve 
the good of the community in his own way, to his degree, within his 
field, the welfare of humanity, according to his viewpoint and his 
power. 

Men are mourned according as they have served. 

The most that we can ask is that everyone should show an 
earnest, honest willingness to serve, to do his part of the communal 
work, according to the power and means that is possessed. 

By this alone is the appreciation and esteem of fellow-beings won. 
Only because of service to others is the departure of a man or woman 
from the earthly arena a cause for lamentation. 

Service may not always be public. It may be private, unnoted, 
humble, but vital service it must be, to earn the parting tear when, 
lifeless, in eternal peace, the busy hands are folded. 



THE ROCKEFELLER DONATION 



The Rockefellers, father and son, have donated $75,000 to the 
Jewish people of New York for their campaign for new buildings 
and reconstruction of old structures of their charities. It is their 
first gift to sectarian bodies. 

The contribution should not be belittled, but on the other hand 
it is as great an error to glorify it too extensively. 

When donations are made to charity or education there is always 
cause for gladness though every intelligent person knows that neither 
charity nor education ought to be dependent on private whim or in- 
dividual giving. Both education and charity should be provided uni- 
versally and the funds from levied taxes. Indeed charity ought not 
to be a need at all, if justice ruled. 

As we live some distance from the days of the millenium, we 
will accept individual benefactions, and even say: "Thank you, kind 
sir!' (or lady). 

We only ask two questions before the heartiness of our gratitude 
is measured, namely: "How did you acquire the money you give?" 
and "Have you plenty more to gratify your own pleasures and 
luxuries?" 

If money is dishonorably made or is only a part of a superfluous 
estate — has it the wealth of value of the hard earned dollars given by 
self-depriving lovers of humanity? 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 223 
A COMMUNITY LEADER. 



To M. F. 



A long and useful life was ended on the day when this leader 
passed away. 

Aggressiveness was the keynote of his character. Happily this 
energy was well directed. It found its vent not only in commercial chan- 
nels, but in an effective and incessant labor for community developments, 
civic and Jewish. He is no more, but the product of his industry re- 
mains. 

His assertiveness won him friends and followers and also opposi- 
tion. He usually achieved his aim — for he was the embodiment of 
self-confidence and action. He was practical — almost to a fault — but 
behind his scoff of the idealist and dreamer there was a respect for the 
sincere man and the scholar. 

He despised sham and hypocrisy. He was outspoken, blunt and 
brusque. These were counterbalanced by his kind heart, generous purse 
and every-ready ability to serve. 

He was self-conscious, but not vain. He frankly viewed his work 
and his ideas as valuable and so they usually were. His influence was 
with the wealthy, but his work was largely for the poor. 

He was one of the few leaders who could bring that great American 
desideratum — immediate and direct "RESULTS !" He was a leader. 

He concentrated the major part of his useful years in labors for the 
Federated Jewish Charities and for Temple Israel. Both institutions 
are largely what they are because of the devotion and militant self-sac- 
rificing energies of Moses Fraley. Both institutions stand as monuments 
to his career. 

The community has every reason to bewail the vital loss it has sus- 
tained in his demise. 

He will not readily be replaced — but the best tribute of appreci- 
ation would be to uphold and improve the institutions that he fostered. 



NOT PUNISHED ENOUGH 



Seven "Jewish" brothers (Jewish in name only) were sentenced 
to imprisonment for swindling. Good ! 

They deserve the penalty but it is not enough. They have brought 
stain upon the Jewish name. That is an ugly, additional crime. 

When their present sentences are up they should be given another 
penitentiary term for so basely betraying Jewish honor. 

Jewish violators of law and order, happily few, commit two of- 
fenses — one aganist the law and one against their own people. They 
should be sternly punished and doubly. 



224 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



NO CHILDREN WANTED 



Along with the unfair discrimination against Jewish tenants, that 
some landlords bigotedly exercise, is the equally unjust restriction 
against families with children obtaining residential quarters in many 
neighborhoods. 

The family of one of our esteemed readers in Detroit had this 
most disagreeable experience. They went for months without obtain- 
ing desirable quarters, solely because of the almost general prohibi- 
tion against children, although the family consisted of but two chil- 
dren and their parents. 

The matter so exasperated him that he complained to the Mayor, 
ironically asking him to assist him in placing his two small children 
in an orphan asylum as they were apparently "outcasts" in Detroit. 

Although the complainant was Jewish, he quoted to the Mayor 
the Christian Savior's well known words : "Suffer little children to 
come unto Me," but as the landlord had a contrary sentiment, he 
found it necessary to say to the Mayor: "Suffer little children to 
come unto you." 

The result is that the Mayor of Detroit will attempt to have an 
ordinance passed by which action may be taken against landlords who 
refuse to rent to families with children. 

Landlords may claim that some children are destructive, but ac- 
cording to the best thought of society and of nature, the propagation 
of children is both natural and even desirable. As they are entitled to 
exist, it would seem that arbitrary and universal restrictions against 
having them in any desirable habitation are as unjust and outrageous 
as they are unreasonable. Laws against such discrimination would be 
in accord with a correct understanding of the rights of children and of 
parents. We hope that in Detroit as in St. Louis, where some such 
restrictions also exist, the laws contemplated to abolish the branding 
of children as undesirables will become rigidly enforced. 



A CONUNDRUM 



How many nationalities can a Jew have? If he comes from 
Roumania, adopts America and craves to be a citizen of a projected 
Jewish Palestine State — what is he? Is he Roumanian, American or 
Palestinian? Is he one, two or all three of these nationalities? 

Can nationality be changed like wives or apparel? Can a Jew 
claim two or three nationalities consistently? 

If we admit it (and we do NOT) — it certainly would be com- 
plicated and confusing, even to the over-endowed triple patriot. Would 
he fight for all of them — or against none of them? Really it is a pity 
(paraphrasing Nathan Hale who died for America) "that he has but 
one life to give to three countries !" 

P. S. The answer to the conundrum is simple. "A Jew" is a 
religious, not a national, appellation. His nationality is that of the 
country of which he is a citizen. 




WHEN CZARS IN RUSSIA RULED 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



225 



THE BLOT ON AMERICAN POLITICS 



Lovers of America and its institutions almost despair as they read 
of the taint and blot of political corruption in office-seeking, from 
street-cleaners to presidents. 

That men of all denominations, calling themselves AMERICAN, 
can be bought and sold, like merchandise in this United States is a 
hideous condition. ' It is a more important matter for the concern of 
thinking people than the League of Nations or the cost of living. 

Men guilty of trafficking in politics for pay or private benefit 
should have their rights as citizens revoked — like convicts. Deporta- 
tion would not be an undue penalty. 

That any unscrupulous man is able to continue in power is clearly 
the fault of those who indolently, by passive indifference, give, to 
them, the opportunity. 

To utter a denunciation is no remedy. This we know. 

The attitude of indifference must be changed. 

The pessimist says that our politics contaminate good men — and 
women. The optimist insists that upright men and women can purify 
and disinfect the politics, which, in their present evil state befoul 
the land, presenting a pitiful and maladorous contrast to the ideals 
of the American Republic of which we prate so much on Decoration 
Day and the glorious Fourth of July. 

Political rodents — bribe-givers and bribe-takers — must not be per- 
mitted longer to gnaw away the foundations of our precious temple, 
America, the hope of mankind and the future. On that point all good 
citizens, of every faith, should be determined and united. 

The "reds," the profiteers, and the corrupt politicians are the deadly 
triple powers, which, if unchecked, can wreck America! 

Of these three foes, the venal politician is the worst, for he strikes 
at the root and basis of good government — INTEGRITY ! 



Let us dare 
to do our** 
duty as v/e 
understand it!' 

ABRAHAM UNCOLN 




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DRAMATIC 

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The Traitor 



A DRAMA 

FROM AMERICAN HISTORY 



IN FOUR ACTS 



BY 
A. ROSENTHAL 



All rights of production, 
amateur or professional, 
are reserved by the author. 



» 
^ 



CAST OF CHARACTERS. 



Benedict Arnold American patriot and general — later a traitor 

Hannah Arnold His sister 

Capt. Joseph Hancock Her lover 

George Washington Commander-in-chief American forces 

Major John Andre Adjutant General in British service 

Edward Shippen. Wealthy resident of Philadelphia — British sympathizer 

Margaret Shippen His daughter — known as 

"Peggy" — "the belle of Philadelphia," Later wife of General Arnold 

Haym Salomon _ Banker, a Jew — devoted to America 

Marquis de Lafayette A general of Washington's staff 

Joh n Pauldi ng An American guardsman 

Guests, messengers, soldiers and people. 

Time— Acts I-H-HI— 1775 to 1780. Act IV— 1801. 

Costumes of the period of the American Revolution, 



THE TRAITOR 

Act I — Scene; I. 

(Room in the home of Arnold at New Haven. The village green 
outside. Room simply furnished. Hannah and Arnold seated. Arnold 
impatiently alternately rising and sitting down.) 

Hannah — Benedict, you must be careful! Your desire to serve the 
cause of freedom is noble, but you are rash and reckless. Your quick 
temper will make you do things and risk your life unnecessarily. 

Arnold — You dear, kind, foolish sister. What can you know or feel 
of a soldier's life? The dull life of merchandising— how empty and 
dreary is that against the glory and excitement of a soldier's life with 
honor and fame as the reward of action. Calm your fears ! I will NOT 
be cautious but I WILL come back to you. Do not worry. Fear rather 
that I should prove false to my duty as a son of Freedom than that I 
should die for it for is not Freedom the most precious thing in the world ? 
Without it all other things, even Peace, — are nothing. 

Hannah — Yes, my brave brother, but remember, a soldier's life is 
drudgery as well as glorious. Not every day dawns on a battlefield or 
on a victory. I do not ask that you should stay a coward here at home 
while others fight for liberty, but my exceeding love for you prompts me 
to urge you not to risk yourself in needless danger. The war is for justice 
and freedom, — but you are reckless. 

Arnold — A soldier cannot think of life or danger. Bold, fearless, 
quick, he must be aggressive. If he loses, his dash and daring balance up 
his defeat. If he wins, — his courage was the cause. 

Hannah — I cannot, and I will not keep you. Go then, dearest brother. 
Remember the injunction of our mother: "Heed God's Commandments; 
keep a steady watch over your thoughts, words and actions ; be dutiful 
to superiors, obliging to equals and affable to inferiors, if any such there 
be. Choose good companions and learn from them." 

Arnold (impatiently) — Yes, yes, Hannah, but I must go. Listen ! 
(shouting heard. Arnold runs to the windoiv.) What is it, boys? I'm 
coming. (Returning to Hannah) Quick ! help me with my uniform. 

(Hannah takes from, the wardrobe his Continental uniform, his hat 
and sword and helps him put them on. Arnold impatiently hinders her 
by his excited restlessness and haste.) 

Arnold— Hvvry, Hannah, that will do. Good-bye. (Smiling and 
throwing a kiss to her). 



230 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Arnold — Good-bye, sister, and don't forget me! Pray for me if you 
think I need it! (Arnold dashes out of the room. Hannah looking after 
him sadly.) 

Hannah — Pray for you, brother? Of what avail are prayers unless 
we help to make them true? I fear for him because I know his nature, 
bold, quick, weak, proud, easily angered — then — who can tell? My soul 
is anxious but my hand is helpless to avert his fate, whatever it may be ! 

Scene II. 

The village green in the centre of New Haven. Excited groups dis- 
cussing the news of the battle of Lexington. A large American flag is 
prominently in the middle of the scene over a box used for speakers. 

Enter Arnold in his uniform folloived by an admiring excited group 
of young men of the village. Arnold mounts the box under the Amer- 
ican flag.. 

Arnold — My friends and fellow countrymen: We have just learned 
of the battle of Lexington where American blood has been shed. Shall 
we submit like cow^ards and let a king enslave us ? Are we men to suffer 
such a prospect? Did our fathers leave the old world to be subjects in 
this land, which we have cherished and upbuilded, to yield to a tyrant? 
Is there any craven one among you who dares to hesitate to take up arms 
against the base invaders? 

(A Voice) — Long live the King ! 

Arnold (jumping from the box) — Where is the traitor who said that? 
Find him and we'll hang him to the nearest tree. (Remounts the stand.) 

Fellow citizens and comrades : — I ask you to enlist with me to fight 
in this great cause of Freedom. America is the destined country of the 
world. It stands for opportunity, equality, democracy and liberty — if we 
defend it with our lives. 

Shall any foreign nation put the yoke of tyranny or dead ideas upon 
our young and growing, happy land — the land we love with our heart's 
blood? NO, I say. A thousand times! Rather will we die like heroes in 
defense of it — than surrender or submit to injustice and tyranny. 

I call on you to now enlist with me and join our noble leader. General 
Washington. Who will enlist? Let each one be the first to answer — I! 

(Chorus of many young men) — I ! I ! I ! Hurrah for Captain 
Arnold ! Down with the tyrant ! 

(A book for enrollment of those zvho enlist is brought and they enter 
their names.) 

Arnold — We haven't enough arms and ammunition — some of you go 
at once to selectmen and get the keys of the powder magazine. If they 
refuse to deliver the keys tell them we will come and break open the 
magazine by force. We want arms and will have them. 

(A number obey his order and return soon with guns and ammuni- 
tion. The volunteers are drawn up in military order. The guns are 
distributed and a drill is gone through. Most of them have been partly 
trained and the drill is fairly good.) 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 231 



Arnold — Now off and away to meet this evening — And whatever 
happens — to one thing let us be true — Our Conscience, Our Country and 
our Flag! 

"Forever float that standard sheet ! 
Where breathes the foe but falls before us 
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet 
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us." 

(The volunteers march out with Arnold at their head, in high spirits 
and rejoicing to the heat of drum in martial order — the cheering people 
follow. The large flag in the background dissolves. A figure of Liberty 
is seen in its place.) 

Curtain. 

Act II. 

(Drawing room of the Arnold mansion in Mt. Pleasant, near Phila- 
delphia. The room shows evidences of reckless hi^xury and display. As- 
sembled guests in conversation and animated action, among them Mar- 
garet Shippen and Major John Andre in the foreground.) 

Andre (showing sketches) — Here are some sketches that I made in 
England, Miss Margaret. Will you look at them? Here is one of our 
gracious sovereign His Majesty King George. Would you not like to 
live in England? 

Margaret — No, Major. While father or I may not be in sympathy 
with the rebels of General Washington I love the land of America where, 
at least in spirit, leadership is not by birth or blood but by fitness and 
merit. I pray that peace will be declared soon. 

Andre — That wish would mean that I would be returned to England 
and fair "Peggy" Shippen I would see no more. For my own sake there- 
fore I prefer to see the war go on, thus I am cruel to be kind — unto 
myself, 

Margfar?/- -Compliments as usual! But who is the lady you have 
sketched there? 

Andre — Can't you recognize the features? Look into the mirror! 

Margaret — I am afraid you have been drawing from some memory 
of some other loved England lady for I cannot believe that fair face is 
my poor self. But — Major Andre, what do you think about the war 
and its outcome? 

Andre — It can end but one way. Who can believe that a band of 
untrained, uncouth farmers without equipment, wholly unprepared, will 
be able to resist the disciplined troops of Europe which outnumber them 
ten to one and are well weaponed and supplied? 

Margaret — True, — but the Americans are on their own ground and 
they fight with a different spirit than the paid hireling soldiers who op- 
pose them. These American "rebels" as we call them believe that their 
independence is at stake. They fight with a firm determination and are 
willing to suffer every deprivation in the conviction that their liberty is 
more than life. 



232 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Andre — Yes, although I am on the other side and will do all I can 
for the success and triumph of our arms, I must admire, even though I 
pity, these foolish people. In the end, however, they must lose. All 
their valor is for naught. But my dear Miss Peggy, let us forget the 
serious topic for a time and enjoy a gayer moment while we await the 
coming of General Arnold. Will you sing that merry English song for 
me that so appealed to me on my last visit at your home? 

Margaret — We are here to entertain each other so if you really care 
and the guests do not object I will be glad to sing, if you will play the 
accompaniment to it. 

(They both go to the instrument and Margaret sings while Major 
Andre accompanies her sentimental song.) 

(Enter General Arnold, now military governor of Philadelphia. He 
limps slightly from a wound received in action at the battle of Saratoga.) 

Arnold — Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, my welcome guests. 
Miss Shippen and Major Andre — I salute you. 

Margaret — Rather it is we, dear General, who should salute you, 
the appointed military commander of our city, placed there by General 
Washington and Congress to watch us Tory traitors. (Laughs.) 

Arnold — If all traitors were as bewitchingly beautiful and charming 
as you. Miss Margaret, treason might be an inducement even to poor 
Continental generals like myself. But while we may disagree in our 
allegiance to the King, a true soldier prefers to war only in the open 
field against the foe. He scorns to carry the animosity of the field into 
the drawing room or to proscribe and persecute the wives and daughters 
of those who may differ with him about the duty to the Crown. 

Andre — Well spoken, General Arnold. War in the field but peace 
in the parlor. 

Margaret — We are glad to see you again, General, in your home. 
May I inquire in regard to your health and whether your wound is 
wholly healed? 

Arnold — My wounded leg is much improved although it is by no 
means well. I am afraid it may be a permanent memento of that day 
at Saratoga. Major Andre may prefer your pretty songs, and surely 
you sing them well, Miss Margaret, but to me the clash of battle, the 
clashing thunder of the roaring guns, the seething smoke and blackening 
powder. — they sing a strain that somehow finds an echo in my being and 
is the very breath of life to me! I fret because of my enforced inaction 
here. 

Andre — Fret in such good company as that of Miss Shippen! What 
an insult to her! If you do not retract this instant, General, I will have 
to challenge you. (Andre springs up in mock anger.) 

Arnold (smiling) — You are quite right. Major, and I humbly with- 
draw my words. One cannot be unhappy in the presence of such a 
charming lady as Miss Shippen. I meekly entreat her pardon. In fact, 
it has been her company and association that has cheered my stay in 
Philadelphia, has made me forget my discontent and pain, and in part 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 233 



reconciled me to the malicious work of my political opponents who seek 
to blacken my reputation and my position here. Happy will be the man 
whom she accepts as her protector. That man, whatever else may be 
in store for him through fate, has more than any man on earth. 

Margaret — You exaggerate exceedingly, I fear, dear General. I 
know your gallantry in battle, but I did not realize that you could be so 
gallant to the ladies. 

Andre — General Arnold has induced me to arrange a small diversion 
for his guests in short tableau showing the development of war and 
weapons to which you may listen if you care. 

(General Arnold offers his arm to Margaret and the other guests 
face a small platform in the rear of the room on which a brief series of 
pictures appear as follows:) 

(A curtain in the hack is pulled aside showing a figure posing as 
primitive man clothed with skins and armed with a club.) 

Andre — (Recites in explanation of the famous tableaux) 

Since first the days of war began 
The weapon counted with the man 
The savage first : his only aid 
A massive club of wood was made. 

(A second picture is then shown showing the savage with the club 
at the mercy of one better armed with axe and spear.) 
Andre (continues) — 

Iron and stone in axe and spear 
Vanquished the club, instilling fear. 

(Next tableau — a tournament — two knights in combat) 

"The armored knight with lance in rest 
Gave chivalry its day and zest." 

(The curtain closes and then opens to show the savages with club, 
tomahawk, bow and arrow, all at the mercy of Spaniards with shield, 
helmet, armor and gun.) 

Andre (continues) — 

"The lance, the arrows deadly hail 
Shields, helmet, armor now make fail 
While gunpowder makes armor vain 
And cannon follow muskets' train." 

(A final scene showing a battle fleet is the closing tableaux.) 

Great battleships now rule the sea 

But possibly the wars to be 

May bring some boats that glide unseen 

Like sea-snakes under the marine 

While other craft aloft in air 

Catch hated foes quite unaware." 



234 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



War is a part of destiny 

But why or wherefore — none can see! 

(Curtain closes. Applause.) 

Arnold (to guests) — To forget this theme of war a dance should 
now be welcome. If Major Andre and Miss Margaret will lead 
I will be much delighted. Afterward Mr. Shippen may announce some 
interesting news. 

(The guests dance a graceful minuet after which elaborate refresh- 
ments are served. Glass in hand, Mr. Shippen then rises.) 

Mr. Shippen — I am indeed happy to announce to you, my friends, 
the true cause of this festive gathering. With profound joy in my heart 
permit me to tell you that my daughter Margaret is betrothed to our 
good host, General Arnold. May I ask you to drink to their mutual 
health ? 

Andre (startled but regaining his composure quickly) — Let me be 
the first to congratulate. A prettier bride and a bolder soldier never met 
in Cupid's net. 

(Other guests surround the bridal couple and congratulate.) 

(Haym Salomon enters unobserved. He is tall, dignified in appear- 
ance, his features telling his Hebraic ancestry. General Arnold sees him 
and invites him to a seat, somewhat removed from the rest.) 

Salomon — You sent for me ? You wrote that the matter was urgent. 

Arnold — Yes, but I did not expect you here. However, you are wel- 
come and if you will wait a moment I will return. 

(Arnold leaves Salomon and after excuses to Margaret, Major Andre 
and Mr. Shippen, he returns to Salomon.) 

Arnold — The matter of our business concerns money. 

Salomon — Most naturally. Why else would you care to speak to me? 

Arnold — But this money is for me privately. My betrothal to Miss 
Peggy Shippen has just been announced tonight. The marriage will be 
in two weeks. I am in need of ready money. I will give you good 
security. 

Salomon — So, so? (turning to him sternly) I cannot lend it to you. 

Arnold — You cannot? You mean you will not. You have lent money 
in large amounts to Congress and to Robert Morris, the American Super- 
intendent of Finance, without security or interest. Why not to me? 

Salomon— That was for the cause of Independence. For them my 
heart and hand and purse are ready,— then and now. Your private needs 
are different. 

Arnold — I ofifer you security and heavy interest. 

Salomon — You are extravagant and speculate. 

Arnold — What's that to you? 

Salomon — That is not good. It cannot end well. 

Arnold — You dare to insult me? 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 235 



Salomon — I said your speculation, gambling, and extravagant house- 
hold, all this luxury in your position, is not good. 

Arnold — I did not ask advice — I asked for money. Do you refuse 
to lend it? 

Salomon — My money and my services are for my country's cause 
and at its call. To give to you is to take that much from the starving, 
half-clad troops of Washington and from the needs of Congress. Per- 
haps Congress will repay the debt to me. Perhaps not. But if not my 
satisfaction will be in the knowledge that I, too, a Jew, have done my 
little for the salvation of the people in the land that has adopted, shielded 
and protected me and my people, who, in other countries have been mis- 
judged, mistreated and oppressed. 

Arnold — Remember I am the military commander in Philadelphia, 
where you live. 

Salomon — I do not fear you. 

(The conversation has been in subdued tones until nozv. Arnold's 
temper has risen, and he speaks in louder tones.) 

Arnold — I need the money and you must lend it to me. 

Salomon — I have said no. 

Arnold — You — ■ ! (about to strike him zvith his szi'ord.) 

Salomon (smiles) — It wouldn't be quite soldierly to use your sv/ord 
on me, dear General. Congress needs all its forces now against its foes. 
Use your illustrious weapon on our enemies as you did at vSaratoga and 
Quebec but not on me, the humble but devoted Jev/ who helps to furnish 
the sinews of war from which you and the army live. May you and the 
army thrive in the good cause for which every dollar that I have and my 
poor life, also, if needed, are ready. I leave you now to your good guests. 
Your prospective father-in-lav/ will furnish you the me.?ns to p?.y your 
debts, — perhaps. A friendly word in parting. Be careful that your reck- 
lessness and your hot temper do not bring you into trouble. (As he takes 
his leave he speaks to himself as follozvs:) 

Salomon — Speculation, lavish spending, borrowing, len.'.ino! — these 
MUST lead to trouble. A pity truly for the man is brave — but weak! 
(Exit glancing backzvard and shaking his head.) 

(Arnold seats himself at table in meditation. A messenger brings 
the zvord that General Washington has arrived. Arnold is agitated. He 
directs the scrz'ant hastily to admit General Washington and goes him- 
self to greet him.) 

(General Washington enters. His face is stern and sad. After bow- 
ing to the assembled guests he addresses himself to General Arnold as 
follozvs:) 

Washington — It was my good fortune and pleasant duty not so very 
long ago to present to you a sword of honor. That was a welcome priv- 
ilege for I more than any other man know your good qualities. I am 
now called on by the action of the court-martial concluded some days 
ago and by the decision of Congress, to perform a function from which 
I would well wish to be relieved, but from which in the nature of my 



236 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



position and because I may do it less harshly than another, I will yet 
not shirk. I have been delegated to formally reprimand you for abuse of 
power and for invading the rights of citizens of Pennsylvania. I know 
your fiery nature which has been of value to us in the army service but 
which has caused you to intrude upon the rights of others for the want 
of due reflection. Think over your conduct and be again the General 
Arnold whom I and others know to value as a patriot and soldier. Adieu. 
(Exit Washington.) (Arnold rages, pacing up and down like one bereft.) 

Arnold — This for all my services ! This for all the hardships, suf- 
fering and dangers at Valcour Island where I stood between the fire of 
the Indians on the shore and the English on their ships, scoffing at death 
the target of thundering guns in an unequal fight but too proud to sur- 
render; standing with splitting planks and splintered timbers flying 
around, like a tiger at bay ! This for dragging my weary way through 
the wilderness! This for risking my life in the open field without a care 
and all for this humiliation and ingratitude ! Dearly shall all this ignom- 
inous disgrace be many times repaid by all of you, to me. I'll find a way 
to make you pay. 

(The guests who have been standing startled and shocked during the 
foregoing, depart without ceremony, all but Margaret who approaches 
him and clasps his hand in mute assurance of her sympathy with him. 
Andre remains standing in the background.) 

Curtain. 

Act III — Scene I. 
The Arnold home at West Point. Time — -Two years later. 

Mrs. Arnold (formerly Margaret Ship pen) is saying farewell to 
Major Andre. Arnold is moodily standing near. 

Margaret — We are sorry to see you go, Major Andre. May circum- 
stances permit us to greet you soon again as an ever-welcome guest in 
our household. Perhaps when this war is ended you will see us before 
you sail for England. 

Andre (with a significant exchange of glances with Arnold) — That 
may be sooner than you think. Farewell, Mrs. Arnold, and thanks for 
your delightful hospitality. (Exit Margaret.) 

Arnold (to Andre)— Here is the pass made in the name of "Ander- 
son" that will see you through our lines. I have a strange foreboding 
about this business that it may miscarry. If it does — good-bye to all my 
dreams and prospects. In betraying my trust as the Commander of 
West Point which I induced General Washington to give to me, I am 
putting at stake my future, my reputation and my life. 

Andre — We will not fail. I have the plans and papers, you have 
given me, safely stowed in my boot. I will get them without mishap to 
General Clinton in New York and he will promptly send the necessary 
men and ships and West Point will be ours and in British hands, — 
thanks to you ! You not only will have served our cause but that of your 
misguided countrymen — although they may not know it. Their cause is 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 237 



hopeless. Your action will spare a vast amount of future bloodshed 
which would onl)^ come if the war was prolonged. By giving us West 
Point, the key to the Hudson, the war will be brought to an end. The 
wives and mothers of the starving, naked, barefooted and unpaid soldiers 
of the Continental country will rise up and bless you for your work. 
After West Point falls into our hands Congress will see the folly of 
continuing the war and Washington will be helpless to go on without the 
aid of Congress. 

Arnold — Yes, that is the one regret I feel — that Washington must 
be the loser by my treachery. He alone appreciated me. Gates and all 
the others envied me, robbed me of my deserts and cheated me of my 
laurels. Washington alone was kind to me * * *. Were it not that what 
you say may be true, I might still be tempted to withdraw from this ugly 
business which, if it goes amiss, will wreck my fame, my future and 
my happiness. 

Andre — Do not fear. By morning I will be within the British lines, 
thanks to the pass you give me. By evening our men will be on the 
march and the war is now as good as ended. Your name will go down 
in history as Benedict Arnold, the savior of America ! Your people will 
receive from us the best of treatment though not the independence that 
they sought. Farewell. (Exit Andre.) 

Arnold (musing) — Go down in history as America's savior ! I hope 
so, but I fear quite otherwise. But — No more doubting or misgiving! 
The mistreatment of Congress, my unappreciated services, my financial 
needs, these all cry : Do it ! It may be to America's good or not ! My 
own ambitions and necessities are in the scales. I consider those alone. 
The world is an ungrateful one. I care no longer what it says. 

Act III — Scene: II. 
Near Tarrytown on the road to New York. 

(Three American guardsmen, John Paulding and two companions, 
raggedly dressed. Paulding wears the coat of a British soldier. Andre 
is seen approaching closely wrapped in his overcoat, underneath his Brit- 
ish officer's uniform.) 

John Paulding — Halt ! Who goes there ? 

Andre — One of your camp. 

Paulding — Which camp? 

Andre (mistakingly judging from Paulding's coat that they are 
English, answers:) — The British ! 

(Andre throws open his overcoat displaying his English uniform and 
authority.) 

Paulding — A British officer! We arrest you. 

Andre — Are you not English? You wear an English uniform. 

Paulding — My good coat an English soldier stole and left me this 
old coat of his. (To the other two guardsmen:) Search him! 

(The fateful papers are found in Andre's boot.) 



238 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



All Three — A spy! 

Andre (angrily) — I am not a spy. Here is my pass from Genera] 
Arnold that will prove I am no spy. Let me go ! 

Paulding — Not so fast, my British friend ! 

Andre — Here is my gold watch and jewelry. Take them and let me 
pass. My business is urgent. I must reach New York tonight. 

Paulding — No bribes ! We are not of that stripe, my pretty fellow. 

Andre — Then take me to your superior officer at once. He will 
soon see that I am not a spy and I will show him General Arnold's pass. 

(Bxit Andre under guard of the three men.) 

Act III— Scene III. 

Scene III — Home of General Arnold. 

(A messenger at the door knocks excitedly. Arnold appears. Arnold 
takes message, re-enters the room, and reads:) 

General Arnold, commanding : 

"John Anderson a prisoner, arrested at Tarrytown 
as a suspected spy. Plans and papers of West Point 
found on his person. Bears pass from you. All papers 
forwarded to General Washington." 

(Signed) — Col. Jameson. 

Arnold (shudders, staggers and by an effort keeps from falling) — 
Margaret ! Margaret ! All is lost ! Andre is taken ! 

Margaret (alarmed) — What is lost? "Andre taken?" What do you 
mean? 

Arnold — I cannot spare a moment. Read this note. I must fly at 
once. I have betrayed my country. I gave Major Andre the plans and 
papers of West Point. I sold them to the British for revenge, for money 
and to end the war. Andre is captured. All will be known. I must get 
to the British lines for safety. If I am caught my end is sure. Good- 
bye, — perhaps forever, — my darling wife. 

Margaret — (Faints. Arnold lifts her gently and lovingly. He lays 
her on the couch. Kisses her.) 

Arnold — My misery begun. Where will it end? Too late now for 
regret in me ! I must away ! (Calls servant to care for Margaret who 
is still unconscious; tenderly kisses child; hastens out and the sound of 
departing horsehoofs in gallop tell of his flight.) 

Margaret (recovering) — Have I dreamed ? Benedict, my husband ! 
Where is he? It cannot be — it is a horrid dream! My bold, brave sol- 
dier — my husband — he cannot have left me here alone forever. (Weeps). 
Turns to her child in the cradle) — My little son ! His boy ! His sin will 
fall on you and me, as well as him ! 

(A knock at the door. The servant announces the arrival of General 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 239 



Washington, and staff with Lafayette. Margaret hides the traces of tears 
and rises to receive them. General Washington enters. Mrs. Arnold 
gazes at the General and tries to read his thoughts.) 

Washington — Good-day, Mrs. Arnold. We have come to see Gen- 
eral Arnold. Is he at home? 

Margaret — He is away. He did not expect your coming for several 
days. 

(Margaret accidentally drops the message received by Arnold, tell- 
ing of Andre's capture. She fails to notice it. Lafayette sees the paper, 
stoops, picks it up and gallantly hands it to her. Margaret hastily 
clutches it.) 

Margaret — A moment, please, my child is crying. (Turns to the 
child; meanwhile destroys the message. Returns) — Will you not make 
yourselves at home and rest while I see to some light refreshments for 
you, gentlemen, after your hard ride ? 

(Washington, in thought, does not answer.) 

Lafayette (bowing to Mrs. Arnold) — Thanks, madame, you are very 
kind. We shall obey a lady, as good soldiers do. (Exit Margaret.) 

Washington — Where can General Arnold be? He knew we were 
to come. 

Lafayette — No doubt he will come soon. 

Washington — I hope so. Mrs. Arnold acts very strangely. Usually 
she is so cheerful and so gay. 

Lafayette (shrugging shoulders) — Being married, Monsieur Gen- 
erale, sometimes alters a woman's gayety. But she is what the poet says : 
"A good wife is Heaven's greatest gift to man." 

Washington — Have you any word from France regarding the ex- 
pected aid of men and ships for us? 

Lafayette — None, General, but what you know. But let us not de- 
spair. The help France promises will come. 

Washington — It must come soon or not at all. Our cause grows 
desperate. 

Lafayette — What hope have we for aid from Congress ? 

Washington— 1 have written to Congress the vital need of fresh 
troops, ammunition and provisions. We are in distress. Our situation is 
serious. Robert Morris, our Superintendent of Finance, and Haym 
Salomon, his able Jewish helper, are striving to secure the necessary 
funds and credit. 

We should have been prepared. A nation though it trusts in God 
and in its own integrity, must have a proper support with which to up- 
hold that national honor and defense against invasion. An excess of 
armed strength invites militarism, the bane of Europe, that will one day 
bring it seas of blood and tears. There is a necessary middle ground 
which should keep pace with the growth and needs of every people to 
safeguard its welfare, its institutions and its peace. My men are suf- 
fering in Valley Forge for bread. I do not — 



240 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



(Messenger arrives in haste; interrupts General Washington. Gives 
him the papers found on Andre and the details of his capture. Washing- 
ton reads, realizes Arnold's treason, hut displays no emotion. Whispers 
to General Hamilton of his staff. Then aloud.) 

Washington — Mount and with men pursue Arnold! Overtake him 
if possible. (Exit Hamilton to lead the pursuit.) 

Washington (to Lafayette) — Think, Marquis, GENERAL ARN- 
OLD A TRAITOR ! Whom can we trust now ? 

(Mrs. Arnold entering hears Washington's last words.) 

Margaret — My husband! You know! What will become of him, 
of me and our child? You will not kill us ! 

Washington — Madame, your husband is doubtless safe by this time, 
against our desires, for he has the start of us. This may calm you, 
though it disappoints us. No harm shall come to you or to your child. 
America does not war on women or on children. (To his aide-de-camp) 
See that she and the child are properly protected. Come, gentlemen ! To 
horse and to our posts ! Guard every point. West Point is still our own 
and the hour of destiny is near. (Exit all.) 

(Mrs. Arnold falls on her knees at the child's crib with her arms 
protectingly over it.) 

Curtain. 

Fourth Act. 
Act IV — Scene I. 

(The Arnold home in New Haven. Hannah singing, engaged busily 
in household tasks. A knock. Enter Capt. Joseph Hancock, her lover. 
Kisses her.) 

Hannah — Joseph ! Welcome ! You did not write to me that you 
would come. 

Joseph — I was wounded but it is not serious. The doctor says I will 
be able to go back to the front in a few days. My furlough will expire 
then and I came for a day to surprise you. Glad as I am to see you, 
Hannah, I am eager to be back with my fellows on the firing line, for the 
critical time has come. We must now win or fail utterly. With the 
French fleet to bar the English retreat and Washington to lead us on 
we may soon trap Burgoyne and Cornwallis. If nothing unforseen oc- 
curs the war will soon be over — and America be free ! 

Hannah — Heaven speed the joyful day that peace may come again 
and happiness to our distracted land ! 

Joseph — And then — (caressing her) 

Hannah — And then — 

Joseph — Then you and I will build our little nest, and, at our happy 
fireside, will live in peace and joy under the sky of liberty, with tyranny 
no more. 

(A noise without. Village folk crowd in muttering "A Traitor's sis- 
ter!" "A Traitor's sister!" Hannah in fear clings to Joseph.) 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 241 



Joseph (in anger) — What is this, you fools? Out of here, I say. 
(Drives them out. As they leave Hannah picks up a newspaper and reads 
the published news of Benedict Arnold's treason. She sinks down on a 
chair at the table with bowed head.) 

Hannah — Benedict, my brother — a traitor ! God have mercy on his 
soul ! Benedict ! My poor, misguided, miserable brother ! How could 
you have done it — sealing your doom and that of your country? All my 
love for you and prayers in vain ! The world's temptations were too much 
for you. Your impetuous nature, that I so feared, was your undoing! 
What will become of you and me? 

Joseph (returning from outside) — What is it, Hannah? (She shows 
him the paper. He reads, releases her and his face grows hard and 
stern.) Benedict Arnold a traitor? False to his country? Shame on 
him— the blackguard ! Curses on his name and head ! 

Hannah (reproachfully) — Joseph ! He is my brother ! 

Joseph — No longer! You surely will not claim a miserable traitor 
as your brother? You must disown him! 

Hannah — He is my brother ! Oh, Joseph, do not be so harsh even in 
your devotion to our country! I will not plead for him but "who shall 
judge his neighbor?" Benedict is more to me than a neighbor. 

Joseph — Choose between him or me! I will not let my name be 
linked with that of a base traitor, even through you. 

Hannah (with dignity and emotion) — You cannot mean it. You 
cannot be so unfeeling as to make me suffer for Benedict's sin. 

Joseph (hotly) — Choose between me and your brother, the faithless 
traitor ! 

Hannah — I cannot abandon Benedict — in spite of his transgression. 

Joseph — You must. 

Hannah (pleadingly) — I cannot! 

Joseph (casting her from him) — Then farewell. You shall see me 
no more. 

Hannah — Would you leave me so? 

Joseph — Will you disown your traitor brother? 

Hannah (bitterly) — No— and you are a traitor, Joseph Hancock, to 
desert me in this sad hour of my sorrow. You are a tyrant to demand 
that I desert my brother and his family. I will go to my brother's wife 
and babe to care for them. You have shown me your true colors. God 
will be the judge between us as to right and as to whose loyalty was 
greater, yours or mine. I am done with you forever. Qo ! 

(Joseph goes out slowly. Hannah turns to a picture of Arnold hang- 
ing on the wall, takes it down and says:) 

Hannah — Thus have you wrecked your future and ruined mine ! 
Benedict ! my lost, but still loved brother ; God pity you and us ! On to 
his poor wife and her little one! I'll go to them! 

Curtain. 



242 SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



Act IV — Scene II. 

Portsmouth two months later. 

(Arnold now in uniform as a British officer in commmand of a 
division of English troops against his former countrymen, is speaking 
to several other subordinate British officers.) 

Arnold — I know the lay of the land and the habits of these "rebel" 
(sarcastically). You know I was one of these same rebels not so very 
long ago. 

(The British officers smile and glance at him with a half con- 
cealed contempt.) 

Arnold — So Major Andre has been hung as a spy. Too bad! Too 
bad! Such a fine fellow. Such are the fortunes of war! See that the 
American prisoners that we took are securely watched. They do not love 
me any too much now, because of what they call my "treason" but which 
you gentlemen know was only a sincere return to my allegiance to His 
Majesty the King. 

(Officers nod assent and depart. Arnold seats himself and begins 
the study of a map of the campaign. Behind him from the background 
a figure stealthily approaches and attempts to deal a vicious blow. Arnold 
hears in time, turns and engages in a fierce struggle with the man. Throws 
him, pulls his pistol and thus holds the man who is unarmed. Arnold calls 
the guard. They manacle the aggressor. He proves to be one of the 
American prisoners.) 

Arnold — Ah ! one of the "rebels." I told you that they needed watch- 
ing. (Scrutinizes him closely.) Well ! well ! My old friend and comrade 
Larvey of the American army. I told you, Larvey, you had better come 
over with me to the King when I left you on the barge in which you rowed 
me to the "Vulture," the English ship I boarded when I left West Point. 
You wouldn't come, Larvey. You are sorry, now, Larvey, aren't you? 

Larvey — I am not. I am only sorry that I didn't kill you — 
"TRAITOR." 

Arnold (laughs contemptuously) — Say, Larvey, I am curious to know 
one thing. What would they do to me, my former friends, if they should 
catch me. What would they do to me, Larvey ? 

Larvey — They would cut off your leg which was wounded when you 
were fighting for the cause of Liberty, and bury it with the honors of 
war, — and hang the rest of your body on a gibbet. 

Arnold (to the guard, furiously) — Take him away. 

(Arnold studies map again but his mind dwells on what Larvey has 
said. He smiles bitterly as the curtain falls.) 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 243 

Act IV— Scene III. 
(Twenty Years Later.) 

(London — A middle class lodging house. Substantial furniture but 
surroundings cheerless. Arnold ill and alone. He has aged considerably 
— shows it in features, gait and voice.) 

Arnold — The fury of the battlefield is peace, compared to the dis- 
tressing combat of my wretched, guilty soul ! My illness leaves me 
weaker every day. Yet why should I fear death? What is there to in- 
spire a desire to live? Yet now I dread the near approach of that silent, 
spectral king who passed me by on many a bloody battlefield. 

Why do I fear death now? My kindred and my countrymen are 
mine no more. My new land and its people know me only as "THE 
TRAITOR." My sword is the sword of dishonor. The rust of treason 
is upon its blade forever. 

Arnold— That hideous word and name !— "THE TRAITOR!" still 
clings to me — after all these long years ! — to me, a patriot if ever one 
there was — until that awful day when I surrendered to my wounded 
pride, desire for revenge and selfish love of money. 

Shame, guilt and hate all point their accusing fingers at me. I am 
sick in body and in soul. I'll end it all. (Takes his revolver.) But no 
— that one satisfaction I will never give my enemies. (Lays revolver on 
table.) 

America is free. Washington lives in the hearts and memories of 
every freedom-loving creature. His name is a synonym for patriotism 
and devotion, faithful to death — while my name is accursed. 

(Enter doctor and nurse, with medicines. They help him to a couch. 
Becomes delirious. The nurse tries to calm him.) 

Arnold — My evil spirit lured me on. The gold for which I sold my 
soul is gone in idle speculation. I pay the price in shame and humiliation. 
It is too much ! 

I am not a traitor ! I am a patriot ! Let me die in my old American 
uniform in which I fought for liberty. Give me my uniform. I hear my 
country's call again ! 

(In his delirium, he leaps up, runs to the closet zvhere the old Amer- 
ican uniform and sword hang. In great agitation he puts them on.) 

Arnold — My country needs me ! I am coming, boys ! You who 
fought with me under my command at Saratoga, Ridgefield and Quebec ! 
Are you all here ? Forward then — once more ! 

(Attempts to brandish the sword but falls weak and helpless in the 
doctor s arms.) 

Arnold (collapsing) — Vain! Vain! Had I but died in the mountains 
or the wilderness or on the battlefield instead of, now, exiled and banished, 
to fill a traitor's grave ! 



244 



SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. ROSENTHAL 



(It is clear that his last moments have come. He suddenly fixes his 
frenzied, staring eyes to the back of the stage where the wall of the room 
lifts and displays a tableaux spectacle emblematic of the progress, peace 
and splendor of Am^erica, with Washington and his Generals around him. 
Patriotic music is heard. Arnold gasps, staggers backward, falls and 
with his dying breath exclaims:) 

"AMERICA, MY COUNTRY!" 

END OF THE PLAY. 



k^T 



Do justice to 



all, ana n 



i forget that we 
are Ainericans. 

CEORCE WASHINGTON 

'Ni !2^ 



IN MEMORIAM— ARON ROSENTHAL 




Another family hearth is desolated. Another mortal bond of love 
is sundered. The community has lost another link. 

A devoted husband, a loving father, a modest, unassuming, loyal 
Jew and faithful citizen ran out the sands of human life when Aran 
Rosenthal (our dear father) yielded to the Inevitable, the baffling mys- 
tery of Death, to the will of the .Supreme Power that conceived the 
finitely incomprehensible Design. 

Unremittingly he performed through all the busy years {what so 
many of us do not), the simple, vital obligations of the dailv, ordinarx 
life. 

He provided for his dear ones, materially, mentally, and spiritually. 
He aided those outside his fold quietly without blazoning it to the world. 
He supported Jewish and civic institutions. 

Labor zvas to him the delight of life. Home was his paradise. His 
wife was his ideal. His children's happiness zvas his. The simple life 
satisfied all his demands. 

His merit lay in this: that he did nobly, the big little things of ex- 
istence. 

He zvas exceptionally industrious, modest, honest, kind, faithful, 
true, — loved his family and provided for them; contributed to charity; 
fostered fraternity; supported the State. 

Al this he regarded as a man's plain duty. It never dazvned on 
him to think otherwise. What a world it would be if all thought so! 

He did not realize the shining excellence of his example in so z'ig- 
orously and conscientiously doing the unattractive tasks of every day. 

This was the secret of his success. This zvon for him honorable 
approbation from the world. 

He was unaffected, and unobtrusive. He was no office-seeker, yet 
in one institution he zvas chosen for thirty years, successively, as 
Treasurer. 

He sought no popularity, yet few were wider known or better liked. 

Reverses and obstacles he surmounted by sheer effort and restless 
energy. He died as he had lived, respected and beloved. 

^fhe life of ARON ROSENTHAL may be summed up in this: •'He 
did the COMMON duties of life UNCOMMONLY well!' 

For this his name zvill be cherished long by those zvho knew him 
at his best. 

His recollection will be enshrined in the innermost holiest recesses 
of memory and affection so long as the breath of life remains in those 
who formed his fireside circle while he zvas on earth. 

He earned his rest. All must be zvell with him. 

His spirit will endure in us — a precious, potent, living force for 
good. 

He zvill not be forgotten! 



IN MEMORIAM— LAURA ROSENTHAL 




Never is Death more keenly or profoundly felt than when a mother 
dies. 

What heart so hardened hut the magic word "MOTHER" makes it 
soft as wax! 

Our cherished mother passed away on Tuesday. 

Death stole upon her unawares (as upon Lincoln) zvhile, unsuspect- 
ing, she sat at the play. 

What Lincoln was to the State, she was to her domestic circle,— a 
guiding and self-sacrificing head, — faithful unto death. 

She had a useful, long and pleasant life, — hut she knczv hardships. 
Every mother does. Early in her life her father died and she (left with 
infant brothers and a loving younger sister, Clara) hecame a breadwin- 
ner and her brave mother's help and counselor. She valued those mem- 
orable girlhood days of stress and struggle even more than later days of 
ease and leisure. They gave her strength of character. She prised 
highest her blissful wedded life with her adored ARON. 

* * * * 

Who loves must suffer. Love and grief are near related. We knozv 
it now. 

She held our heart-strings in her hand. We mourn as only children 
can for an ideal, precious Jewish mother, whose devotion was as strong 
the last day of her life as at the hour her first-born drew its breath! She 
emphasized the beauty of the "HOME." Her ruling passion ever was 
maternal love, hut she extended it beyond her oivn, to others. 

Her heart was charitable — always open to the cry of the distressed. 
Much of her benevolence was quietly dispensed. Her last good act was 
to send bountiful relief to war-distressed kinfolk across the sea. 

Her mind was bright and stored with information, her judgment 
rational and practical. Truth, firmness, faith and modesty — these were 

qualities that marked her robust character. 

* * * * 

We cannot question or deny the baffling Will of Providence of the 
Infinite Intclligetice and Supreme Power that gives and takes, brings 
joys and sorrows, bestows loved ones and bereaves us. We do not under- 
stand. May time assuage our sorrow, bind tis closer, and see us live as 
she desired. 

We only know we loved this noble mother and we grieve that she 
is gone. * * * * 

Gone? She is no more with us, but the affectionate remembrance 
of her virtues is ineffaceable and indestructible. 

We find some consolation that she was spared to us so long and that 
her passing was not marked by a long period of suffering. 

One grain of comfort more : — 

We cannot know, — hut in our hearts, sincerely, we may hope and 
wish and trust that now she and her idolised "ARON," our remembered 
father, who preceded her eight years ago, are once more re-united in 
their eternal love. 

And our true love shall hear them company forever. 



W iEnwflt 



To loved ones dear, — 
To near and far 
On Earth's star-sphere,- 
To creeds that war: — 

To all that breathes 
Life's joy or pain, — 
To Death that sheathes 
From stress and strain :- 

To heart and mind 
That nobly mate: — 
This book is signed 
And dedicate! 




t 



